La Cumbre Plaza has had two kinds of news over the last year, and they run on very different clocks. The restaurant news moves in weeks. Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks closed on September 27, 2026, and Mendocino Farms opened on June 30, 2026. The housing news moves in years. Two proposals would add 1,123 rental apartments to the plaza. As of July 9, 2026, neither had a public hearing on the calendar. If you live nearby, along La Cumbre Road toward Hope Ranch, it helps to know which changes sit where. The apartments are planned for the plaza's two ends. The shops and restaurants in between have a lease that runs half a century.
One storefront, three restaurants
The Islands closure is a good example of how the middle of the plaza changes. An employee confirmed the closing date to Edhat and said there would likely be no official announcement. Edhat also reported that Islands had opened at La Cumbre Plaza in February 2018, in a space that was Marmalade Cafe before that and Red Robin before that. That puts three restaurant operators in one space, with Islands lasting about eight and a half years. The Restaurant Guy column on SantaBarbara.com first reported the closing from a reader tip on September 10, 2026.
New tenants keep replacing departing ones. Mendocino Farms opened at 3851 State Street in the space Panera Bread left in 2025. Edhat reported that it is the chain's first Santa Barbara location and its 100th overall. In November 2025, the Museum of Tibetan Art & Culture and Legacy Art Studios held a grand opening at 120 South Hope Avenue, Suite F-20. The Santa Barbara Independent covered the November 21 event.
None of these changes needed a city hearing. A space empties and a new tenant moves in.
Where the apartments would actually go
The City of Santa Barbara describes La Cumbre Plaza as a 31-acre center made up of eight parcels. It identifies six of those parcels as suitable for substantial mixed-use or residential redevelopment. So far, formal applications have been filed for two of them, one at each end.
| Macy's site | Former Sears site | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 3805 State Street | 3845 State Street |
| Project name | The Neighborhood at State & Hope | La Cumbre South Homes |
| Who is behind it | The Taylor family | Riviera Dairy Property, with Kennedy Wilson as developer |
| Proposed rental units | 680 | 443 |
| What comes down | The Macy's building and associated parking | The former Sears building, the auto center and associated parking |
| Status in the city record | Application complete February 13, 2025; environmental review in progress | Continued indefinitely by the Architectural Board of Review on November 10, 2025 |
Reports give slightly different unit counts for the Macy's site. The city's project page says 680, Noozhawk's April 2025 coverage said 684, and the city's Housing Element capacity table estimates 685. That small gap explains why older headlines said 1,127 apartments and the current city figures add up to 1,123.
The Sears-site plan is the more detailed of the two. It calls for 36 studios, 183 one-bedroom units, 201 two-bedroom units and 23 three-bedroom units. It also includes 10,000 square feet of leasing and amenity space, a creekside multi-use path and 466 parking spaces. Ten percent of its units would be for moderate-income households. The city's AUD overlay requires that share for rental projects of ten or more units to qualify for the overlay's densities. The city's Land Use Element names the La Cumbre Plaza and Five Points area as one of the places where its highest residential densities should go, citing nearby services and transit.
Why the middle of the plaza is the steadiest part
The two proposals focus on the end buildings and their parking lots, and the reason is the leases. Noozhawk reported that the interior buildings will continue through at least 2077. That covers the shops, restaurants, gyms, art galleries and other businesses. A separate Noozhawk report identifies the Macerich Company as the holder of that long-term lease.
The Macy's lease reportedly runs through 2028, and demolition of that building could follow once it expires. Macy's still appears in the plaza's online directory. In January 2025, a report found the Macy's building had no historical significance, as Noozhawk covered. That finding cleared one question but did not approve demolition. The application is still under review.
Put together, the leases explain what happens in what order. The interior can change only one tenant at a time, the way it did when Islands left and Mendocino Farms arrived. The two ends are where large changes are possible, and even there nothing can start until a lease runs out and a project gets its approvals.
The clock, as the public record stands in October 2026
Every date below comes from city pages, applicant materials or local reporting:
- February 13, 2025. The city deems the Macy's-site application complete. Its own estimate for environmental review is "Months–1 Year depending on level of CEQA review." That review is now about 20 months old and still listed as in progress.
- 2024 into 2025. City staff and the Macy's-site applicant do not reach a development agreement. The city says it will process the existing application under the requirements and timelines that already apply.
- May 2025. The Sears-site application enters completeness review. The applicant submits more materials on October 23, 2025.
- November 10, 2025. The Architectural Board of Review votes unanimously to continue the Sears-site project indefinitely. The Santa Barbara Independent reported that the board asked for architecture "more in line with Santa Barbara's style." This was a concept review, so nothing was approved or denied.
- July 9, 2026. No hearing dates are posted for either project.
- January 2028. The earliest construction start in the Sears applicant's own 2025 materials. Those materials schedule work through December 2030 if built all at once or December 2033 if phased, with first occupancies in early 2031. Noozhawk reported that no Sears-site construction was expected before 2028.
- After 2028. Macy's-site construction would follow the end of the Macy's lease.
The Sears timeline was written before the board sent the design back for revisions, so it reflects the applicant's plan at the time and could move. Status pages can also fall behind events. The CivicSB summary noted that the city's 3845 State page had not been updated since before the November 2025 continuance.
The 3845 application lays out the scale of the work: removing about 142,461 square feet of existing structures and hauling off about 41,900 cubic yards of soil. On the applicant's own schedule, that work would not start before 2028.
How to follow it without checking the news every week
The city keeps an interested-parties list for both projects. You can join by emailing [email protected] with the project numbers PLN2024-00227 for the Macy's site and PLN2025-00238 for the Sears site. People on the list get mailed notice of each project's first hearing before each review body, plus any environmental notices. The city warns that continued hearings are not re-noticed, so after a first hearing the next dates show up only on meeting agendas. State law keeps some Macy's-site plans off the internet. You can see the full set in person at 630 Garden Street. The city's project pages for 3805 State and 3845 State and its La Cumbre Plaza overview are the official sources, keeping in mind that they can lag behind.
In the meantime, the plaza keeps holding events. Its events calendar lists a "Paws & Performance" dog adoption event in October and an e-waste recycling event on October 31, 2026.
Nothing at La Cumbre Plaza calls for a quick decision, and most of what's been proposed is still only on paper. If you're a longtime homeowner nearby, or helping a parent who is, and you'd like to talk through your own plans calmly and on your own schedule, Deborah Samuel is glad to sit down with you. When it suits you, request your instant home valuation and downsizing plan.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
