downtown santa cruz complex
This project delivers a remarkable amount of desperately needed affordable housing while architecturally negotiating a complex site to maximize opportunities for dynamic local retail, thread together critical elements of existing urban fabric, and introduce new pedestrian and transit connections within the historic heart of Santa Cruz.
The 7-story building provides 141 100% affordable housing units and an engaging, integrated new Metro station experience. Pedestrian scaled retail along Pacific Ave. offers an array of storefront opportunities for local merchants and the building is sculpted to introduce connective pedestrian corridors at currently dead-end streets. The proposed adjacent paseo is generously expanded to create a retail-lined public plaza to be used by transit riders, residents, and all members of Santa Cruz’s diverse local community. The architecture speaks directly to the neighborhood in scale, form, and materiality with specific attention paid to adjacent context, historic and new, resulting in a project that embraces Santa Cruz’s rich local heritage and forward thinking ambitions through thoughtful, bold, community-focused design.
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Client: Private
Size: 114,774 SF
Scope: Architecture, Landscape, 3D Visualization
Completion: In-design
