Santa Cruz Changes 160: Return of the Towers

Apologies for the LOTR title mashup. August is traditionally a slow month for new building project starts, so it's a good time for some historical perspective. 

The popularity of towers on buildings has risen and fallen several times in Santa Cruz history, beginning of course with the mission. The original is long gone, but the 1870s painting at right shows how the mission chapel may have looked, circa 1820.

Our earliest towers were purpose-built for bells and/or as defensive lookouts. We didn't originally have any of those lookout towers here, but several later buildings include pseudo-lookout towers as decorative features, such as at Piedmont Court.

Another early purpose for a tower was as a lighthouse. One of those was built in Santa Cruz in 1869, memorialized by the current lighthouse-shaped building that houses the surf museum. A later lighthouse stands at the end of the Santa Cruz Harbor jetty. 

A third purpose for a tower was to elevate a large clock, for visibility. The original version of today's town clock sat high atop an 1873 commercial building for that purpose.

The Queen Anne style of the 1880s-90s featured round corner turrets whose steeply-sloped pointy roofs towered above the rest of the building. Later, in the Art Deco era of the 1930s-40s, buildings sometimes featured towers as decorative elements, such as the one at the corner of Church and Chestnut. The image here shows how the building originally looked, before the unfortunate later "Spanish" remodel.

One well-known tower survived because of historic preservation efforts. The new La Bahia Hotel incorporated the existing 1920s tower and its Spanish Colonial Revival style. And just for fun, the designer added a couple more decorative towers.

Santa Cruz Changes 159: More development news

There's a flurry of development activity to report this week, so I'll just list them with links to further info, Thanks to Jesse Kathan at Santa Cruz Local for many of these, and also to the City of Santa Cruz email notification system.
In order of upcoming actions:

* August 11: Santa Cruz City Council meeting for expansion of previous 900 High St. housing proposal, 2 pm (link to City Council meetings page)
* August 18: Community meeting for 1501-1511 Mission St. housing proposal, 6 pm (link to project page)
* Not yet scheduled: Community meeting for a project of up to 281 units at Soquel and Seabright avenues
* Not yet scheduled: 60 units at 930 Mission Street (link to project page)
* Also: the developer of the previously planning-approved project at 417 Pacific Avenue (Neptune Apts.) has applied for a building permit (link to project page)

Santa Cruz Changes 158: Filling those new apartments

Changes 156 counted the number of new apartment units recently opened or under construction in downtown Santa Cruz. That post noted an unanswered question: How can we estimate the number of residents per new apartment? I haven't worked that one out yet, but instead came up against another question: how fast are those new housing units filling up?

The City recently tried to answer that question with the informational document copied at right. It shows very high occupancy at all three of the newly-opened multi-family housing projects, even at market-rate Anton Pacific, the oldest and largest of the three. The Anton occupancy figures no doubt came from the developer and could be inflated, but the other two are city-sponsored projects, so the figures are presumably reliable. They seem to indicate plenty of appetite for this type of downtown housing.

We'll learn more as River Row and Pacific Station North fill up, but I expect the numbers to be similar. I talked to the folks at Mercy Housing who are running the PacStation North application process, and was told that there were over 1,500 applications for the 228 apartments. Not too far behind is another large project: the mixed-use library/housing/garage. I've also noticed a recent slight decline in asking rents for existing apartments, which may be attributable in part to all the new units coming onto the market.

Santa Cruz Changes 157: Santa Cruz design guidelines

 

On July 23, the City Planning Commission will host a public meeting, seeking input as part of a "design guidelines" project. At right is a timeline for the project (from the project webpage). As you can see, this meeting will be the third event, and the first open to public participation.

An informational email offers this description of the event:

The Planning Commission of the City of Santa Cruz will hold a community meeting to consider the project listed below on Thursday, July 23, 2026, on or after the hour of 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers – City Hall, 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA. Please join us for a community meeting on design guidelines hosted by a special meeting of the Planning Commission. 

The City of Santa Cruz is developing design guidelines for multifamily housing and mixed-use development. Design guidelines are principles and recommendations that the City can use to express the community’s vision for how new development looks and feels. These guidelines will help shape how new housing is designed so it fits well within neighborhoods, contributes to the character of Santa Cruz, and supports safe, attractive, and livable communities. 

Building on the City’s existing design standards, the new guidelines will provide additional direction for future housing development. Community input will help shape the final guidelines and ensure they reflect local values, priorities, and the unique character of Santa Cruz. 

This meeting will provide an opportunity to learn about the Design Guidelines project, ask questions, and engage in discussion with Planning Commissioners, members of the City Council Design Guidelines Ad Hoc Committee, City staff, and fellow community members. 

We look forward to your participation in this community event.

• Date: Thursday, July 23, 2026
• Start Time: 6:00 PM
• Location: City Council Chambers, 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 
• Project Number: FP26-0005
• APN: Citywide 
• Website: www.santacruzca.gov/designguidelines 
• RSVP and Sign‑Up for Project Updates: Use this Form to RSVP and sign up for the project interest list if you'd like to receive updates. RSVPs help us plan for attendance. They are anonymous, optional, and not required to join the community meeting.

While I always support any governmental effort to increase public awareness and participation, it's hard to envision how this project will have meaningful effects on planning processes for housing development, given recent state law constriction of local options. Nevertheless, I have signed up on the project interest list (using the linked "Form" above), and will keep track of project progress.    

Santa Cruz Changes 156: Counting new apartments in Santa Cruz

 

Updated June 14 to add 831 Water Street

After last week's post about the apparent contradiction between reports of the city's declining population and all the new residential construction noted in this blog, the next question is: exactly how much new housing is there? 

Lacking an accurate way to estimate the number of residents (except at UCSC/Kresge) in these new developments, we'll have to settle for counting the number of new rental units. That number would also be the minimum possible number of residents, if all units are occupied.

In practice, renters come and go, so any apartment complex always has a few vacancies. And it takes a while for most new developments (especially market-rate) to fill up. And we won't count proposed/approved projects until they've actually broken ground. So, with those caveats, let's add some numbers to the list of recent projects noted last week, plus others that have opened since 2020 (in chronological order of first blog posts, not of completion):

* 555 Pacific Avenue: 94 units (Changes 1)
* Anton-Pacific: 205 units (Changes 4)
* 1547 Pacific: 79 units (Changes 6)  
* River Row (Front Street): 175 units (Changes 9)
* 350 Ocean Street: 63 units (Changes 13)
* Pacific Station South: 70 units (Changes 21)
* 530 Center Street: 65 units (Changes 50)
* UCSC Kresge College student housing: 400 beds (see Changes 106)
* UCSC student/staff Delaware Apartments: 161 units (see Changes 119)

Total completed = 1,350 new units/beds

Large projects scheduled to open in the next two years include:

* Pacific Station North: 129 units (Changes 22)
* 126 Eucalyptus Street senior housing: 76 units  (Changes 56)
* 850 Almar Street (Westside Village): 38 units (Changes 97)
* Swift Street "workforce" housing: 100 units (see Changes 120) 
* UCSC Student Housing West: 140 units (see Changes 95)
* Downtown library/housing/garage: 124 units (see Changes 58)  
* 136 River Street mixed-use: 50 units (see Changes 76)
* 831 Water Street mixed use: 140 units (Changes 108 - see also June 14 photo below)

Total under construction = 797 new units/beds
Grand total = 2,147 new units/beds

Looking even further into the future, the City of Santa Cruz website includes a map of major projects that have received approval but have not yet completed construction. A screenshot of part of that map is shown at the top of this post.

It should also be noted that very few existing housing units were lost because of any of these projects. So that decline in the Santa Cruz population is not happening downtown. There must be lots of vacancies somewhere. 

Santa Cruz Changes 155: Is Santa Cruz growing or shrinking?

The Google Street View screen grab above (from 2017) shows the Front Street site now occupied by the River Row mixed-use development.

Recent analysis by Lookout Santa Cruz finds that the city's population has decreased by 3.7% since 2020, citing high rents and low wages as primary causes. The declining affordability of Santa Cruz housing has been thoroughly documented: Santa Cruz-Watsonville has been named the least-affordable housing rental market in the country for three years in a row.  

At the same time, this blog has noted the creation of a lot of new housing over the past few years. Will an influx of new housing lead to rent reductions? I have seen two cases in the last year where landlords slightly reduced their original asking rents, but that's far from a scientific study.

Will all the new housing reverse the population decline? It's probably still too soon to see a definite trend, but a lot of new housing will have opened by this time next year, so we'll see. Large projects that have opened or will open in the city (including UCSC) this year or late last year include:

* River Row mixed-use (apartments all market rate) 
* UCSC student/staff Delaware Apartments (see Changes 119)
* UCSC Kresge College student housing (see Changes 106)
* Pacific Station North Apartments (100% affordable) (first discussed here in 2021! See Changes 22)
* 119 Coral Street (Housing Matters supportive housing - see Changes 55) 

Large projects scheduled to open in the next two years include:

* 126 Eucalyptus Street senior housing (see Changes 56)
* Swift Street "workforce" housing (see Changes 120) 
* UCSC Student Housing West (see Changes 95)
* Downtown library/housing/garage (see Changes 58)  
* 136 River Street mixed-use (see Changes 76)

There may be a others that have broken ground since I last checked!

Outside of the city:

* Cabrillo-UCSC student apartments (see Changes 139)

Santa Cruz Changes 154: 915 Water Street gets its BP

Received this City of Santa Cruz project update today:

On April 28, the Community Development Department issued a building permit for a new six-story affordable housing project at 915 Water Street. This 110,000 square foot development will replace existing structures with 83 apartments, offering a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. All units are designed for mobility or are adaptable for persons with disabilities. 

The building will feature ground floor commercial space and a leasing office, alongside various resident amenities. These include a community room, an exterior courtyard with a children’s play area, co-working spaces, and onsite laundry. 

To support city sustainability goals, the project is fully electric. The site will also include electric vehicle charging stations and the supporting infrastructure for future EV needs.

The design of this project has changed a lot from the "four-story, 74,290 sq. ft. mixed-use building with . . . 105 SRO's" proposed in 2022. The site is on the north side of Water Street between N. Branciforte and Stanford, across from Branciforte School. Buildings to be demolished have been vacant since 2024, as seen in this Google Street View screen grab:

  

Santa Cruz Changes 153: Housing slowdown in Capitola?

Capitola has had few new multi-family projects in recent years, compared to Santa Cruz, and now one that had already received planning approval has asked for a two-year extension on that planning permit, meaning that the developer is not ready to submit a building permit application. 

I haven't driven by the site lately, so the photo above is a Google Streetview from 2024. A posting on the left-hand chain-link gate describes the proposed development, including a conceptual rendering.

This property has had a complicated development history. Until 2016, it was for many years a senior assisted living facility, until an abrupt sale was followed by forced evictions. A later buyer planned to upgrade and reopen the facility, but several years of work stopped after ~2021. After (presumably) another sale, the current proposal for a multi-family residential development was submitted and received planning approval.

Will the project ever happen? We'll have to watch and see. Whether it happens or not, it's a two-year delay, part of the slowdown previously noted here (Changes #134). Below is the city notice for the upcoming public hearing, with the design permit extension on the consent agenda (no public comments).

  

Santa Cruz Changes 152: Two informational presentations next week

The City of Santa Cruz announced two pre-application "virtual community meetings" upcoming next week to introduce the public to a pair of new mixed-use development proposals.

On Monday, the subject will be 617 Water Street (webinar link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81250325525, city project page: 617 Water Street, CP26-0016). The site is a narrow lot on the north side of Water Street, just east of Branciforte Creek.

 On Tuesday, it's 930 Mission Street (webinar link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81734464595, city project page: 930 Mission Street, CP26-0015). The site is at the northwest corner of Mission and Otis (Otis is one street south of Walnut Avenue.

We'll take a closer look at each of those proposals if/when they become actual permit applications. Here's a screen shot of the city informational email.

 

Santa Cruz Changes 151: the "off-site" option

 This week, the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission will likely approve (it's on the consent agenda) the development permit application for the Neptune Apartments parcels at 407-415 Pacific Avenue (see Changes 147). As noted in the earlier post, ". . .  this development will have 100% "affordable" (below-market-rate-rent) units. That's happening because of a recent city rule that allowed the development proposed for 201 Front Street (see Changes 126) to be 100% market-rate, in return for 100% below-market-rate in another location." The City's notice reads:

The SC City Planning Commission will meet Thursday, April 16 at 7:00 pm at City Council Chambers, 809 Center Street in Santa Cruz. Click HERE for the agenda. Agenda items include:

Consent Public Hearing Agenda

• 407-415 Pacific Avenue – Coastal Permit, Residential Demolition Authorization Permit, Nonresidential Demolition Authorization Permit, Lot Line Adjustment, Design Permit, and Density Bonus request to demolish the existing buildings and construct an 8-story, 102-unit, 100-percent affordable apartment building with ground floor commercial space serving as the off-site affordable housing required for redevelopment of 201 Front Street (CP25-0116) on a parcel located in the CBD/CZ-O/FP-O (Central Business District/Coastal Zone Overlay/Floodplain Overlay) zone district and within the South of Laurel Area of the Downtown Plan. Environmental Review: Statutory Exemption pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.66. This project requires a Coastal Permit which is not appealable to the California Coastal Commission.

Although I haven't had the chance to quiz anyone who knows how this works, I presume that the reason a developer might want to use the "off-site" option for meeting affordability inclusion requirements is that if an entire building is "affordable", then construction costs can be reduced more by reducing amenity levels for a whole building than if it's done on a unit-by-unit basis. 

This is not the first use of the "off-site" rule, and it probably won't be the last.