A six-story, 67-unit apartment building is proposed on the 1800 block of Mission Street in Santa Cruz, across from Starbucks. (Workbench)
Santa Cruz Planning Commission meeting
- 7 p.m. Thursday, July 17 at Santa Cruz City Council chambers, 809 Center St.
- The meeting will be streamed on Community TV. View the agenda.
SANTA CRUZ >> The Santa Cruz Planning Commission on Thursday will consider whether three homes on Mission and Dufour streets should be demolished to make way for a six-story, 67-unit apartment building with ground-floor commercial space.
Commissioners are expected to approve a lot line adjustment, a design permit and density bonus in combination with the demolition. Because of the state’s housing shortage, state law limits local officials’ power to block housing proposals on land zoned for housing.
The proposal includes:
- Forty studio apartments and 27 two-bedroom apartments. A prior version of plans included 10 below-market rent units, but it’s not yet clear how many below-market rate units would be included in this version.
- A roof terrace on part of the top floor, ground-floor commercial space, an outdoor seating area and residential lobby.
- Fourteen parking spaces that include 10 spaces for electric vehicles with two charging stations.
Santa Cruz-based Workbench and Santa Cruz-based Dannan Development are working on the project.
“UCSC students contend with the toughest housing market of any college town in the state,” said Workbench co-founder Jamileh Cannon. “Many end up with long commutes as part of their college experience.”
Because the site is on a Santa Cruz Metro bus route to UCSC, Workbench has proposed an exemption from parking requirements for the development.
Ideas for more housing at the site at 1811, 1815 and 1819 Mission St. have been in the works since 2021 when a three-story building was proposed on the site. The site is across Dufour Street from a busy Starbucks and flanked by single-family homes. Mission Street is part of Highway 1.
Renderings show a six-story apartment building at 1811 Mission St., Santa Cruz. (Workbench)
At an October 2024 community meeting, some neighbors expressed concerns with parking, increased traffic, the building’s height and its close proximity to neighbors. The ground floor has no setback against the rear property line, though the second floor and above does.
“Having 2 feet set back would at least be less of a slap in the face to the neighbors,” resident Rachel Moriconi said at the 2024 meeting.
“It feels like this is not going to be a very inviting place to live,” said adjacent property owner Joanne Hutson. “A lot of locals I know feel they are being pushed out” by the development.
Another Santa Cruz resident who shared just the first name Cameron was one of the few project supporters to attend the meeting. “I don’t want my rent to go up, and it’s going to keep going up if there isn’t enough housing,” Cameron said.
Apartments are proposed to replace three homes on Mission and Dufour streets in Santa Cruz, across the street from a Starbucks. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Starbucks replaced a Comerica bank at Mission and Dufour streets in Santa Cruz after the building was sold in 2017. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Mission and Dufour streets on Wednesday. (Tyler Maldonado — Santa Cruz Local)
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Tyler Maldonado holds a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. He writes about housing, homelessness and the environment. He lives in Santa Cruz County.
