Years in the Making, Old Town Inn and Condos Almost Done

Santa Barbara Newsroom
By Tom Schultz
April 24, 2007

A new Hollister Avenue hotel, touted as an important piece of a years-long push to revitalize Old Town Goleta with new housing and business, will open sometime in July, according to the city.

The 98-room Old Town Hampton Inn could be finished by July 4 — just in time to capture revenue in connection with the national holiday, Goleta Planning Director Steve Chase said Monday.

"The best way to characterize this is attempts are being made," he said. "We are getting pretty close. This is a big deal. I'm glad to see this is coming along."

With scaffolding still surrounding the unfinishd building, crews on Monday banged away under a bright sun. It appeared as though most of the windows were installed. The exterior was not yet painted.

Located at 5665 Hollister Ave., the hotel at the intersection of Hollister and Kinman avenues will total 54,000 square feet and include 1,000 square feet for retail-commercial purposes, according to plans.

To the rear, 37 condos are under construction as part of a separate project approved along with the hotel in 2004 by the City Council. The condos, to be known as the Willow Creek Townhomes, will total 59,000 square feet.

The city expects to conduct a series of routine inspections in the next few weeks, Mr. Chase said. "There's a whole series of compliance matters."

The project was approved in large part to breathe new economic life into Old Town, an area of Goleta with rundown facades and flooding issues, two key areas being considered in efforts to improve the area.

Officials say they expect Goleta to reap millions annually in tax revenue once occupancy begins. An estimate of just how much was not available Monday.

The most densely populated area of Goleta, a city of 30,000 residents, Old Town dates back decades and features mostly mom-and-pop shops.

The inn project was not without controversy. Some residents questioned its location sandwiched between a car dealership and a school bus maintenance yard.

Others told officials the project might exacerbate traffic problems along Hollister Avenue.

Traffic safety was on the mind of Randy Rosness, exectutive director of the Goleta Valley Community Center, which is located two doors down from the project.

The center regularly hosts dance classes and other activities for children, and welcomes an estimated 350,000 visitors a year.

Rosness said Monday he had met with developers and was confident that traffic issues had been addressed by builders and the city.

"I think it's going to be a nice project," Rosness said. "I hope it will work well."