Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the details of the development proposal and approval process.

SANTA CRUZ >> Residents will get their first chance to speak to developers about the proposed redevelopment of the Catalyst nightclub in Downtown Santa Cruz at a community meeting next Thursday.

At the virtual meeting, developers and city planners are set to present the project and take questions and comments from attendees.

On Nov. 5, Mountain View-based developer GSH Ventures submitted a pre-application for a seven-story building with 64 condominiums on Pacific Avenue where the Catalyst now stands. The building renderings include a rebuilt music venue on the ground floor, though no formal agreement has been struck with the Catalyst.

The properties at 1009, 1011 and 1015 Pacific Ave. were listed for sale for $4.5 million in 2025. That listing has since been removed.

The developer has until June 17 to submit a full application with more details about the proposed building. After city staff deem the application complete, the proposal would go to a public hearing with the city’s Planning Commission for the first round of review. 

The city’s community outreach policy mandates a community meeting for large developments, and feedback may be incorporated into the developers’ design of the building. But the city’s ability to block or change the project may be limited by state laws that aim to encourage new housing.

Over 10,000 signatures have been added to an online petition for city leaders to preserve the existing Catalyst building by designating it as a historical preservation cultural landmark. The designation can limit developers’ ability to alter or demolish the building under city law.

But since developers have already submitted a pre-application, a new historic designation would not affect the city’s ability to block the project, wrote city spokesperson Erika Smart in a Jan. 23 email.

A rendering shows a proposed seven-story apartment building where the Catalyst nightclub currently stands on Pacific Avenue. (Humphreys & Partners Architects)

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