The Architectural Board of Review asked for architecture "more in line with Santa Barbara's style."
The board said that on November 10, 2025, when it voted unanimously to continue the 443-unit La Cumbre South Homes proposal indefinitely. The project would replace the former Sears building at the south end of La Cumbre Plaza. Board members asked Kennedy Wilson, the developer, for more locally grounded architecture, courtyards that connect, a paseo, a rethought amenities building and partial story poles. Neither La Cumbre project was on the Planning Commission agenda for October 1 or the joint design review agenda for October 2.
Most coverage of the shopping center at State Street and Hope Avenue treats it as a place that is about to change. The schedule says otherwise. For at least the next couple of years, the plaza will run on tenants who know the clock is ticking, and several of its most distinctive draws are inside the very buildings the plans would take down.
The Schedule Already on File
The two proposals together come to 1,123 rental units. Each has its own constraint, and the dates the applicants have filed are more useful than any rendering.
| Site | Project | Where it stands | Earliest construction on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macy's, 3805 State St. | The Neighborhood at State & Hope, 680 units | Application deemed complete February 13, 2025; the city is weighing whether AB 130 exempts it from CEQA review | Not before Macy's lease ends in 2028 |
| Former Sears, 3845 State St. | La Cumbre South Homes, 443 units | Design continued indefinitely November 10, 2025 | January 2028, per the applicant's own schedule |
The Macy's site belongs to a local development team, Matthew and Jim Taylor. In April 2025, Noozhawk reported that environmental review, land-use approval and design review were expected to take about four years before construction could begin. The City Council had directed staff in August 2024 to negotiate a development agreement for more affordable housing. Those talks did not produce one, and the city says it will keep processing the application under the timelines the law requires.
The Sears-site schedule is the one that reaches furthest. In its materials, the applicant described demolishing about 142,461 square feet of structures and exporting about 41,900 cubic yards of soil. Construction would run from January 2028 to December 2030 if built continuously, or to December 2033 if phased, with first occupancies in early 2031. That timeline was filed in 2025, before the board sent the design back. As of July 9, 2026, no hearing had been posted for either project.
What Fills a Mall That Has a Clock
The city's own inventory of the plaza shows what the waiting period looks like from the inside. The Housing Element table lists the one-story sections at 110 and 130 S. Hope Avenue as each having four vacant spaces offered on one-year "Quikspace" leases. It describes the former Sears building as having a leased ground floor and a vacant upper floor. That table is a snapshot, and individual spaces have changed hands since it was written. Even so, it describes a landlord renting space a year at a time instead of committing it for a decade.
The leased ground floor of the old Sears store is now Miss Daisy's Consignment & Auction House, which bills itself as the largest consignment store in the tri-counties. On Sunday afternoons the store holds a free set by Society Jazz, a group founded by owner Glenn Novack. The lineup is John Webb on piano, Ruben Martinez on bass, Rene Martinez on drums and vocalist Hanna Ross, with homemade cookies and tea for shoppers. Well-behaved dogs are welcome and get biscuits. Novack also runs Moving Miss Daisy, a service that helps seniors downsize. Every Sunday, the American songbook plays inside a building whose filed plans call for its demolition.
The same logic shows up in seasonal retail. A Crimson Holiday, a holiday shop, took over the former Talbots space across from J.Jill at 121 S. Hope Avenue for the 2025 season. It reopened October 15 and its season ran through December 31, 2025. Nothing published so far confirms a return in 2026, so treat that storefront as an open question this season, not a fixture.
At the same address is the La Cumbre Center of Creative Arts. On the third Friday of each month it hosts the Gallery Row Art Walk across Illuminations, Elevate and The Fine Line. Recent editions have included Illuminations' "Priced to Take Home" show of local work at $50, Greek tunes from Foto Street Outreach in The Fine Line, live music from Mike Cregan in the plaza, and the Museum of Contemporary Tibetan Art. The Grace Fisher Foundation's Inclusive Arts Clubhouse has hosted a dance party and shown paintings by Grace.
The Restaurant Pads Are Turning Over on Their Own Schedule
A national chain's choice this summer complicates the picture of a plaza in decline. Mendocino Farms, the Los Angeles sandwich and salad company founded by Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen-Del Pero and now majority-owned by TPG, opened its 100th location at La Cumbre Plaza. It held a soft opening dinner for e-club members on June 29, 2026, and opened officially the next day. A company marking a milestone location here suggests it sees several good years ahead at the plaza, whatever the long-range plans say.
Turnover runs the other way too. Noozhawk reported that Islands, at 3825 State St., was set to close on September 27. Islands had occupied the space since 2018. As of early October, the plaza's online directory still listed Islands among its dining options, so call before going.
Across La Cumbre Road, Five Points has its own arrival coming. PopUp Bagels is taking Suite B at 3925 State St., the former Blaze Pizza space. On August 19, the News-Press reported a mid-fall target. No opening date had been confirmed as of this writing.
Together, the pads, the consignment floor, the seasonal storefront and the galleries describe a plaza where each tenant decides independently whether the next few years are worth it. Several have decided they are.
A Fall Calendar for the Plaza as It Stands
These dates are worked out from the recurring schedules above. Confirm each one directly before you go.
- Friday, October 16: Gallery Row Art Walk at the La Cumbre Center of Creative Arts, 121 S. Hope Ave. This is October's third Friday.
- Every Sunday: Society Jazz at Miss Daisy's, 3845 State St. Edhat lists the series at 2 to 5 p.m. for November 15, but a second time field on the same listing shows 6 to 7:30 p.m., so check with the store.
- Mid-fall, date pending: PopUp Bagels at Five Points, 3925 State St., Suite B.
- Friday, November 20: The next Gallery Row Art Walk, on November's third Friday.
- Late October onward: Watch the former Talbots space for any sign of A Crimson Holiday returning. Last year it opened in mid-October.
Following the Projects Without Waiting for a Headline
Neighbors who want to know before the bulldozers do can ask for notice directly. The city keeps an interested-parties list. Email [email protected] with the case numbers PLN2024-00227 for the Macy's site, PLN2025-00238 for the Sears site, or both. You'll receive mailed notice of each project's first hearing before each body, plus any CEQA notices. The city warns that continued hearings are not re-noticed, so after a first hearing the agendas are the only signal. Some Macy's-site plans aren't posted online, and those can be viewed in person at 630 Garden Street.
Who decides depends on the site. For the Macy's site, the Staff Hearing Officer rules on the tentative map. For the Sears site, the Planning Commission does. The Architectural Board of Review gives design approval for both. The published remaining steps don't include a City Council vote for either project.
The Dusty Baker Group follows the La Cumbre Plaza applications as they move through design review, along with what the timing means for the streets around State and Hope. If you'd like to talk through how the plaza's next few years relate to a property you own nearby, we're glad to help. Contact Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
