The Housing Authority purchased 3055 De La Vina in Santa Barbara in March of 2024. The site of a former motel, the Quality Inn, the 34-rooms are in the process of being converted into 32 studio apartments, with kitchenettes, and a one-bedroom manager’s unit.
This adaptive reuse project will include accessibility upgrades for five units, converting the existing office into a community room for meetings and resident gatherings, and transforming the filled-in pool area into a communal patio. The laundry room will be rebuilt for resident use, outdoor spaces will be refreshed, and the exterior will be redesigned in a Spanish Colonial style with stucco finishes and tile roofing.
The apartment building will utilize Section 8 vouchers. Those who qualify will pay no more than 30% of their income. The purchase and rehabilitation are made possible through a loan from the City of Santa Barbara, funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation, and funding from the Housing Authority. Construction is currently underway, and new residents are expected to move in early June 2026.
Adopt-a-Home Campaign
The Housing Authority, in partnership with its nonprofit affiliate, 2nd Story Associates, launched the Adopt-a-Home campaign in March 2026 to help furnish the newly renovated studio units. Many incoming residents, who are transitioning out of homelessness, will arrive without furniture or basic household items.
The Housing Authority is asking for donations and support from the Santa Barbara community to help purchase essential items needed to complete these units as homes. The campaign’s goal is to raise $50,000 to furnish all 31 studio units. This includes $37,000 for room furnishings ($1,300 per unit) and an additional $13,000 for mattresses and frames from local vendor, Beds4U.
People can purchase furniture and household goods from an Amazon wish list or donate to the campaign’s general fund (both linked below). Needed items include everything from lamps and lightbulbs to paper towels to dressers for clothing.
You can find the Amazon wish lists for the studios, the community room in the apartment building and the building’s outdoor communal areas, as well as the Housing Authority’s general fund campaign, hyperlinked in this sentence.
For more information, please visit the 2nd Story Associates website.
Community Meetings
The Housing Authority held an online community meeting, inviting local neighbors and businesses, on Thursday, January 18, 2024, regarding the purchase and plans for affordable housing at the site of the property located at 3055 De La Vina Street in Santa Barbara.
Click here to view the recorded meeting.
Click here for the PowerPoint presentation slides.
Click here for Questions and Answers from the Zoom meeting.
Click here to learn more about how our City is helping the unhoused through Dignity Moves.