Mayor Breaks Ground on Housing Project

With golden shovel in hand, Mayor Helene Schneider and other local housing dignitaries broke ground on 11/11 at the site of what is expected to be the largest single-family, LEED Platinum Project in the United States. The 48-townhome community, dubbed the Santa Barbara East Beach Collection, will be located at the corner of Montecito and César Chávez streets, and its units will range from 972 to 2,210 square feet with up to three bedrooms and three and a half baths. The homes, which are intended for local workers, are expected to cost around $400,000. Through the use of photovoltaics, all appliances within the units will be electric, and 80 percent of energy consumed by residents will have be produced within their residences.