Development News for Santa Barbara, California

Council Approves Redevelopment Plan for PO Novo Mall Site, Including Yardi Headquarters and Housing

The council considered draft terms of agreement for the redevelopment of the PO Novo mall site, specifically the former Macy's and Nordstrom buildings. The proposal involves adaptive reuse, with Yardi Systems converting the Macy's building into its global headquarters and DSP partners redeveloping the Nordstrom building into 80-112 residential units, 10% of which will be restricted at 80-100% of area median income. The agreement includes fee transfers of the underlying land to Yardi Systems and DSP, substantial public benefit contributions to the local housing trust fund and downtown improvement funds, and the termination of use restrictions that previously prohibited housing on the site. The council ultimately voted unanimously to direct staff to return with the final disposition and development agreements for approval.