Montecito Country Club to Receive Massive Makeover

The ritzy Montecito Country Club (pictured) is getting a major facelift. Owned by Ty Warner’s luxury hotel chain ​— ​which also includes The Biltmore Four Seasons, Sandpiper golf course, San Ysidro Ranch, and more ​— ​the club will close for approximately 16 months later this year to complete the $30 million job. The project is pending final authorization from the Historic Landmarks Commission ​— ​the Spanish-style clubhouse and its surroundings have historic merit ​— ​which will review the plans again next week. Despite considerable changes, the remodel is a 7,200-square-foot downsize from an initial proposal that was approved in 2009 but delayed to cope with the economic slump.

Much of the country club’s 118-acre property is made up of its 18-hole golf course, which will undergo landscape and irrigation-system improvements. The makeover will also include redoing the clubhouse façade, relocating the pool, planting 725 new trees (and removing or relocating 300 trees), and adding a pool pavilion, snack shop, splash pool, whirlpool, equipment room, and volleyball and bocce ball courts. Project manager Bill Medel said all the member areas will be renovated with the goal to make the location more of a “family-oriented club.” Currently, the club has 415 family memberships that cost a onetime amount of $150,000. Medel said the membership price tag after the remodel is still to be determined.

Santa Barbara’s Planning Commission ​— ​the club is located within city limits ​— ​and the design and review board have already approved the project, and construction must begin by September to keep its city permits alive. Medel said the quality of construction and amenities for the new club are expected to match the 100-room makeover recently completed at The Biltmore.