When people say La Cumbre Plaza is "becoming apartments," which part of the plaza do they mean? The answer decides whether anything changes about a Saturday run to Bristol Farms, lunch at Lure Fish House, or a stop at Williams Sonoma before the holidays.
Two separate housing projects are planned at La Cumbre, one at each end of the block. They have different owners, different timelines and different approval files at City Hall. The middle of the plaza is in neither project, and it is still adding tenants. Mendocino Farms opened there this summer.
The Macy's end: The Neighborhood at State and Hope
The bigger and further-along project covers the Macy's building and the parking around it. The City of Santa Barbara's project page for 3805 State Street describes an 8.8-acre parcel where the Macy's building and its parking would be demolished to make way for a 680-unit mixed-use project. It would include market-rate, moderate-income and very-low-income rentals plus retail, dining, commercial and public spaces.
The developers are the father-and-son team of Jim and Matthew Taylor. Their State & Hope site describes six buildings, two levels of underground residential parking with surface parking for visitors, small local shops, eateries, a restaurant, plazas, paseos and a park. The City's joint hearing agenda for the project gives the numbers in more detail:
- 680 units, including 39 very-low-income and 15 moderate-income units
- 817 residential parking spaces, 107 commercial spaces, 12 loading spaces and 3 guest spaces
- A 36,327-square-foot common yard for residents
- About 60,916 square feet of open space and plaza areas
The October site plan has a row of restaurant and retail spaces running through its center. Siteline SB noted on November 4 that the largest of them, in the middle, could end up being a food hall.
The project was scheduled for a joint hearing of the City's Staff Hearing Officer and Architectural Board of Review on November 9, 2026. The hearing officer was to take up a Tentative Subdivision Map and an exemption from state environmental review under CEQA. The design board was to consider Project Design Approval. In the City's words, "Once approved, the applicant may apply for building permits." Design approval clears the way to apply for a building permit. It does not start construction.
Why Macy's is still on the directory
Macy's is still listed on the La Cumbre Plaza directory. The store also did not appear among the 14 Macy's closures for 2026 that WWD reported in January. The California stores on that list were in Tracy and La Mesa.
The longer-range timing comes from Noozhawk's 2025 coverage. In January 2025, Noozhawk reported that the store's lease ran through 2028 and that the developer had not discussed ending it early. In April 2025, Noozhawk added that nothing was likely to happen at the site until after 2028. Those are reported lease terms from last year, not a closing date. They still explain why the approval process could move this fall without the store changing at all.
The Sears end: La Cumbre South Homes
At the other end of the plaza, the former Sears building is now Furniture Gallery by Mattress Mike. Here the owner, Riviera Dairy Property, is working with the Orange County developer Kennedy Wilson on a separate project called La Cumbre South Homes. Noozhawk's April 2025 account describes 443 rental apartments in two four-story buildings, one with 400 units and one with 43. It also includes a multiuse path along Arroyo Burro Creek on the property's eastern side. In earlier coverage, Noozhawk described that creek path as publicly accessible.
This project is at an earlier stage than the Macy's site. The City's page for 3845 State Street shows a formal application filed May 14, 2025, and a submittal from October 23, 2025 still being checked for completeness. The steps that follow are a Tentative Map, any required environmental review, and then design approvals from the Architectural Board of Review.
| The Neighborhood at State and Hope | La Cumbre South Homes | |
|---|---|---|
| Site | Macy's building and parking | Former Sears, now Furniture Gallery by Mattress Mike |
| Developer | Jim and Matthew Taylor | Kennedy Wilson, for Riviera Dairy Property |
| Homes | 680 units | 443 units |
| Notable public feature | Plazas, paseos, possible food hall | Path along Arroyo Burro Creek |
| Stage this fall | Joint SHO and ABR hearing set for Nov. 9, 2026 | Application under completeness review |
The two projects are separate. Noozhawk reported that the City had first pushed for a single specific plan covering the whole area. Regional funding for that plan was voted down in 2023, so each end of the plaza now moves through City Hall on its own schedule.
The middle of the plaza, which is not in either project
Neither project covers the strip of shops and restaurants between the two ends. In the same April 2025 article, Noozhawk reported that the buildings on the interior of the center, "including shops, restaurants, gyms, art galleries and other establishments," would continue through at least 2077.
That center section has kept turning over tenants in the usual way while the housing plans move forward. In 2026 it gained one restaurant and lost another:
- Mendocino Farms opened June 30, 2026, at 3851 State Street in the former Panera space. Edhat reported that it is the chain's first Santa Barbara location and its 100th overall.
- Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks closed its La Cumbre Plaza location on September 27, 2026. An employee quoted by Edhat confirmed the date but did not know the reason for the closure.
The rest of the directory is mostly unchanged. Bristol Farms, Lure Fish House, Chipotle, Panda Express, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn are all still listed alongside Macy's and Mattress Mike.
What came up in the public comments
The comments filed for the November 9 hearing show which concerns are on the table as the Macy's-end project moves forward. The City's public comment file includes letters supporting the housing and the design. It also includes concerns about existing traffic, construction traffic, pedestrian safety, parking, emergency evacuation, and the project's height and massing. These are the views of the people who wrote in, not City findings. Most of them concern construction around State Street and Hope Avenue, which can begin only after permits are issued, and the 2028 lease date reported in 2025 points to that being years away.
On the plaza calendar this season
The La Cumbre Plaza events calendar lists the following:
- LCCCA Art Walk on Friday, November 20, and Friday, December 18
- Grace Fisher Foundation seminar on Tuesday, December 1
- Pinnacle Performance dog-adoption event on Saturday, December 5
The plaza's homepage is promoting holiday deals for the season. On the near side of State Street, a few blocks south, Ontare Plaza now has Bangkok Thai Cafe at 3613 State Street, where Kaz To-Go Japanese used to be. Siteline SB reported the change in October.
For anyone who owns a home near Upper State, a 680-unit project at one end of the plaza and a 443-unit project at the other raise a fair question about what they could mean for your own property over the next several years. We are glad to walk you through it, using the City's filings and what is actually selling nearby. Alisa Pepper & Bill Urbany offer a free home valuation, and we will give you a calm, plain answer whenever you want one.
