The Santa Barbara City Council took a major step Tuesday night toward redeveloping the Paseo Nuevo shopping center, a project officials say could reshape downtown for decades to come.
The plan calls for demolishing the old Macy’s building and replacing it with more than 200 apartments, including up to 80 affordable units. Council members stressed the importance of keeping affordability at the center of the project.
Councilmember Wendy Santamaria said, “We need that affordable housing. We need the adequate parking. We need 25% affordable deed restricted. I’ll leave it at that.”…