Santa Cruz Changes 107: Soquel Drive at 41st Avenue

This corner has been waiting a long time for Changes. A Nissan car-dealership proposal was approved by the County in 2018, but a lawsuit stopped completion of permitting. Then the end of the COVID recession brought inflation in construction costs, causing the owner to give up on the idea, and the eight adjoining parcels went back on the market. Fast forward to 2024 and new owners: housing developer Pacific West Companies/Linc Housing Corporation are proposing a 289-unit affordable housing development. Watch for the probable next step soon - a pre-application public presentation.

The image above is from a Lookout Santa Cruz article by Wallace Baine. More info is in a 2022 LSC article by Max Chun.

Santa Cruz Changes 106: Kresge College, UCSC

The photo above shows the new academic center building at Kresge College, on the UCSC campus, as approached from the end of the long elevated bridge spanning a deep ravine.

Unlike the new East Meadow housing (Changes 95), much of the built environment of UCSC is hidden in the redwoods. So, for those Santa Cruzans who don't have regular business on campus, it's easy to lose track of what's going on up there. Kresge College - one of the original five - is in the middle of a major expansion and, at the same time, a major renovation of the existing campus, whose early-1970s construction has not proven robust enough to survive the passing years.

The project continues, as seen in the photo below:

   

Santa Cruz Changes 105: Another week, another public meeting

This upcoming week's meeting is on Monday, and concerns a proposed mixed-use development project in the 900 block of Water Street, between Branciforte Avenue and across from Branciforte School. The proposal is similar to many others we've seen recently, with one exception - the 105 residential units are all single-room-occupancy (SRO). 

A similar project proposal for this site was approved in 2022, so this meeting will present modifications to that proposal. Here's an excerpt copied from the City project webpage:

Below is a Google Street View image of the 900 block, seen from the Branciforte Avenue intersection.

p.s. Follow-up to post 104, about the Silver Spur property: Lookout Santa Cruz has a report on the meeting.

Santa Cruz Changes 104: Public meeting at Silver Spur

A new development is proposed for several parcels on Soquel Drive between Santa Cruz and Capitola, including the site of the venerable Silver Spur restaurant. The proposal is to be presented at a public meeting scheduled for Oct. 17, as reported by Wallace Baine for Lookout Santa Cruz:

"The community meeting to talk about the plans for the Silver Spur property takes place at the restaurant, 2650 Soquel Dr., on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. The public is invited. . . . 

     [Silver Spur’s owner, Daniel] Govea said that the project will feature 189 units of housing on a site that includes the Spur and some neighboring businesses and properties."

 

The image at right is a Google satellite view of the area. I have not yet seen plans showing the developer's proposal, so it's not yet clear which parcels are included.

 

Santa Cruz Changes 103: Mobile murals

In 2023 SCMTD began, with the help of several local artists, to transform a number of Santa Cruz public transit buses into rolling works of art. By the end of 2024, SCMTD expects to have 30 buses repainted with images from famed nature photographer Franz Lanting and others. And next year the buses will have a new transit center to park in. 

Santa Cruz Changes 102: 1811-1815 Mission Street

 

Another week, another informational meeting on another Workbench mixed-use development project. Those people are busy! The images above are a finished-project rendering from the developer on the left and a current site view on the right, seen from approximately the same direction on Mission Street. Below is info from the city, including about a community meeting this coming Monday, Sep. 30.

"Project Description

• Project Size: Large Development Project
• City of Santa Cruz Project Number: CP24-0122 (SB330 Preapplication)
• Addresses: 1811, 1815, 1819 Mission Street
• Project Status: Visit Etrakit for Most Current Status and the Assigned Planner

SB330 Only Preapplication to combine three lots and construct a six-story mixed use development with a partial rooftop deck consisting of ground floor commercial space and 68 residential units on a property located within the C-C (Community Commercial) zone district and within the Mission Street Urban Design Plan Area.

Community Meetings/Webinars

A community meeting is required pursuant to the City's Community Outreach Policy for Planning Projects, and the feedback provided may contribute to alterations in the project design and additional project entitlements.

September 30, 2024 Virtual Community Meeting:

On September 30, 2024 a virtual community meeting will be held for 1811, 1815, 1819 Mission Street, CP24-0122. Below you will find the link to the community meeting. For those who cannot attend, the community meeting will be recorded, posted, and available on this webpage after the meeting.

Join the Virtual Public Community Meeting for 1811, 1815, 1819 Mission Street on September 30, 2024 at 6:00 PM. 

You are invited to attend a Public Community Meeting, to be held on Monday, September 30, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, for the project application related to 1811, 1815, 1819 Mission Street, Project Number: CP24-0122.

Community members can click the link below to join the community meeting:

• When: September 30, 2024 6:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
• Topic: Virtual Community Meeting for Project 1811, 1815, 1819 Mission Street (CP24-0122)
• Webinar Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85322601044 
• Webinar ID: 853 2260 1044
• Call:  669 444 9171

Contact Information

Associate Planner, Rina Zhou

(831) 420-5104; rzhou@santacruzca.gov" 

Santa Cruz Changes 101: Soquel Avenue and Soquel Drive

Update: An earlier version of this post confused the Soquel-Drive-at-Thurber-Lane project with a project at 1024 Soquel Avenue, in the City of Santa Cruz; for which there will be a public informational meeting tomorrow. From the city website:

"Community members can click the link below to join the community meeting:

When: September 16, 2024 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Virtual Community Meeting for Project 1024 Soquel Avenue (CP24-0100)

Webinar Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81098434200 

Webinar ID: 810 9843 4200

Call:  669 444 9171"

 

And at Soquel Drive at Thurber Lane: 

Those who have been around Santa Cruz for more than a few years will remember this site as the long-vacant corner of Thurber Lane where a big Christmas tree lot used to set up every year, on Soquel Drive just east of Dominican Hospital. The Anton/Devco development firm is now proposing a five-building project on the corner site, with 188 apartments. The rendering below is a by the developer, looking from Soquel Drive, with Thurber Lane on the left. More information, and a complete plan set, are available from the Anton Solana website. 

Santa Cruz Changes 100: Progress Report part 2

Here's the second half of the report. The more recent posts are mostly about developments that are still in early stages of the planning/permitting process, which takes a while, so only those projects that are completed or under construction will be noted here.

Completed:

• 530 Center Street "Mas Paseos"] (Changes 57, February 18, 2023). The walkway from the end of Cathcart Street at Cedar Street through to Center Street, is now open - as shown in the photo above. 

Under Construction:

• 119 Coral Street (Changes 55, February 4, 2023). Groundbreaking ceremony Sep. 17.
• 111 Errett Circle (Changes 60, April 8, 2023). Demolition is complete, site prep underway.
• Pure Water Soquel (Changes 83, March 2, 2024). Construction seems to be nearing completion.
  
• Chanticleer Ave. pedestrian bridge (Changes 82, February 17, 2024). Construction seems to be nearing completion. 
• Capitola Avenue overpass [Highway 1] (Changes 84, March 11, 2024). Under construction; demolition of old bridge complete.
• UCSC East Meadow housing (Changes 95, June 29, 2024). Site prep continues.
• The Park at Rispin Mansion [Capitola] (Changes 96, July 6, 2024). Completion expected in October.

Santa Cruz Changes 99: Progress Report

During the past three years, this blog has reported on a lot of development projects involving large new buildings. It's August, a time of year when projects that are going to break ground this year have already done so. So which ones are completed, which are under construction, and which have not started? Here are the first 50 - remainder to come next week.

Completed:

• Pacific-Laurel-Front (Changes 4, March 6, 2021). All of the construction fencing was removed a few weeks ago, and the on-site leasing office is open.
• 1547 Pacific Avenue (Changes 6, March 22, 2021). Opened in 2021; still no tenants in any of the street-level retail spaces.
• Delaware Addition (Changes 7, March 27, 2021). The two commercial buildings and one apartment building in the back have been completed. What in 2021 looked like the beginning of construction on a larger residential development proposed for the west side of Panetta Lane was apparently just a staging area for the other buildings. That large still-fenced lot now shows no activity, and city records show no active permit application. 
• 350 Ocean Street (Changes 13, May 16, 2021). Completed in 2021.
• Water Street Apartments (Changes 18, June 20, 2021). Completed in 2021.
• Beach Street (Changes 35, October 23, 2021). The Marea Sol hotel opened this year.
• Not Quite Beach Street (Changes 36, October 30, 2021). The Courtyard hotel on Riverside Ave. opened in 2022. La Quinta hotel on Second Street opened in 2023.
• 1500 Capitola Road (Changes 43, December 18, 2021), Completed in 2022.
• Aptos library (Changes 45, January 15, 2022). Opened in 2024.
• 530 Center Street Mixed-Use (Changes 50, June 18, 2022). Just opened.
  
 

Under Construction:

• 418-508 Front Street (Changes 9, April 17, 2021). Now up to the second level, even with the levee top.
• Pacific Station South (Changes 21, July 10, 2021). Nearly complete, should open this year.
• Pacific Station North (Changes 22, July 17, 2021). Broke ground this year.
• Beach Street (Changes 35, October 23, 2021). The La Bahia hotel will probably open next year.
• Rail Trail (Changes 49, February 19, 2022). The California-to-Pacific segment should be completed this year.
  
 

Not started:

• 831 Water Street (Changes 19, June 26, 2021). No activity on permit application since 2021.
• 324 Front Street (Cruz Hotel, Changes 40, November 27, 2021). Still in the planning permit process. Revised plans were submitted in 2023.
• 130 Center Street (Changes 41, December 4, 2021). The Calypso apartments project was approved by the City Council in January, 2022. An application for a 6-month permit to use the property temporarily as a parking lot was approved on July 31.
  

An update on changes in downtown retail tenant changes will follow, sometime later this year.

Santa Cruz Changes 98: 831 Almar

The previous post concerned the proposed development at 850 Almar, in the empty triangular lot formed by Almar Avenue, Rankin Street, and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail - aka "the rail trail". Across Almar is the site of another proposed development, at 831 Almar. The view above looks at the site from where the rail trail crosses Almar. 

The development proposal, by the local firm called Workbench, began the approval process sooner than 850 Almar, but will probably take longer, because it's larger, mixed-use, and the apartments will not be 100% affordable. The rendering below looks at the development from Almar Avenue, with a bit of the rail trail seen at far left. We'll compare and contrast these two proposals later, as they move through the approvals process. Note that, because of recent state legislation, the process will be much quicker than in the past.