A six-story building proposed for a narrow strip of land between a Santa Maria Town Center mall parking structure and Cook Street would bring 104 apartments and a business in another addition aimed at transforming downtown Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria Planning Commission on Wednesday voted 3-0 to approve the Cook Street Apartments. Commissioner Yasameen Mohajer abstained, while Commissioner Robert Dickerson was absent.
Santa Maria Valley father-son developers Burt and Mark Fugate applied to construct a 54,590-square-foot, six-story building with 104 apartment units and 2,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space on a 0.44-acre site on the 200 block of East Cook Street.
The project would use some city-owned land previously deemed surplus. The developers still need to formally obtain a 0.25-acre from the city.
Additionally, the project would rely on the city-owned parking structure to satisfy the majority of the parking requirements.
In addition to serving the mall and offices along Miller Street, the parking structure also serves the Santa Maria Court Complex on the south side of Cook Street.
A Disposition and Development Agreement between the city and the applicants still needs to be negotiated and eventually approved by the council.
The Cook Street project is the third multistory mixed-use building amid efforts to revive downtown Santa Maria by bringing more people to the area.
Janene Scully | Noozhawk North County Editor