Project planners typically dread the gauntlet of city review hearings in the notoriously picky boardrooms of Santa Barbara, but for some projects — like the 82-residential-unit mixed-use development proposed at the Capitol Hardware location on Milpas Street — a development agreement with the city all but guarantees an approval, essentially leaving members of the Architectural Board of Review (ABR) with their hands tied during design review.
On Tuesday, the designers behind the 701 Milpas Street project — a joint effort between the property owner, Alan Bleecker; and Santa Barbara mega-developer Ed St. George — revealed the project’s latest plans for the first time since last year, now with the armor of the development agreement to protect them from the sharp claws of the ABR.
In the previous hearing, boardmembers called the design “awkward,” “repetitive,“ “monolithic,” and inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhood. The project was moved forward with the intention that it would address the board's comments and bounce back for further notes.