La Entrada de Santa Barbara Hotel-Retail Project Closer but Permit Still a Few Days Off

The long awaited La Entrada de Santa Barbara hotel and retail project is expected to become a reality in the next two years, but construction permits are still a few days off.

The city says the developer, known as 35 State Street Partners, are cleared to begin. The group involves Los Angeles businessman and developer Michael Rosenfeld who has been to Santa Barbara to usher the project through after several setbacks over the last 20 years involving other owners.

The project will encompass three of the four corners at State St. and Mason St. This is a block up from the watefront and near the popular “funk zone.” There will be 123 rooms, over 20,000 square feet of retail space, along with paseos, and 243 parking spaces. The remaining corner will be a boutique hotel that will be developed by the Romasanta family after a widening project for Mission Creek and a new bridge are completed by the city.

The city says the Entrada project has a completion deadline of June 2016.

One key component is the integration of the Californian Hotel, a 1920’s era landmark that has been gutted except for the front facade.

All three aspects of the Entrada project will be completed together.

The last large scale project in Santa Barbara that would come close to this in the downtown or waterfront area was the Paseo Nuevo mall in 1990.