Beach City Apartments Providing Student Living Near Residential Santa Barbara Neighborhood
Student living has been an on going issue for Santa Barbara City College students. Many don’t want to see the apartment complex across from City College turn into a student housing facility. Residents are complaining about the noise as well as their neighborhood turning into a mini “Isla Vista”.
The owner of Beach City apartments, Ed St. George, says he isn’t trying to cause chaos, he just want to provide a place that City College students could live and go to school.
“We would love to turn it into a dorm, but with a dorm we would really need a cafeteria and that is what we are pushing for right now,” said St. George.
St. George renovated the complex giving students a place to live while attending school. That includes 25 City College football players who’ve had a tough time finding anyone to rent to them. George and his staff is also managing their tenant to make sure things don’t get out of hand.
“What we would like to do is create an area for students so that at 9 and 10 o’clock at night they want to go do something they can walk down to the coffee shop, they can work out at the gym, or go to the media hall and watch a movie,” said St. George. “Right now that is not available to any City College student anywhere in this county and we would like to provide that.”
But residents living across the street aren’t embracing their new neighbors. Frank Surber has been living in the Mesa for nearly 30 years, he among others are frustrated with the noise and late night problems that they say the complex brings.
“We are concerned that the student housing between Beach City and Oceano strip is starting to create a mini Isla Vista situation. It an issue on the weekends when the kids go out and party and go from on place to the next,” said Surber.
Jean Nell and a couple of other elderly tenants still live in the complex and George has no plans to change that. He says the connection between the young and the old works great.
“I have five nice Swedish girls living next to me,” said Nell. “They were wonderful! When they baked they would bring it over to me. I hope I get nice girls like that again.”
