Radio Square Developer “Belly Up”
Laguna Hills Firm Had Two Projects in Downtown Santa Barbara
An Orange County developer with two major projects in downtown Santa Barbara – one approved and one under construction – is facing foreclosure after defaulting on a $5-million loan. Santa Barbara Community development chief Paul Casey termed the developer, the Laguna Hills-based DBN, “belly up” and “toast.”
DBN had secured approval to convert Radio Square by Carrillo and Chapala streets into a three-story mixed-use project, but had not begun construction. Many of the key tenants, such as Carrows, had moved out in anticipation. In addition, DBN has halted construction on a substantial housing project in the city’s so-called Funk Zone. That project is located in the shadow of Entrada de Santa Barbara – the time-share condo plan slated for State and Mason streets – also terminally afflicted with a case of construction interuptus.
