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An eight-unit condo project on State Street in Carlsbad was approved by the City Council during its June 25 meeting. Steve Puterski photo.
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Carlsbad Village condo project moves forward

CARLSBAD — A condo project is moving forward in Carlsbad Village after the City Council approved the proposal during its June 25 meeting.

The Seaglass is an eight-unit project and was significantly scaled back after the council previously pushed back against the project in 2016. The 0.25-acre lot at 2646 State Street currently has an abandoned residence on the property and is flanked by a graphic design shop and RV lot.

However, new ownership and the updated Village and Barrio Master Plan were reasons the new developers opted for a scaled back project. In addition, the project will include an affordable unit, per the request of the City Council.

Taal Safide of Safdie Rabines Architects in San Diego compared the two projects and the noticeable differences.

“Our proposal is to create a minimal project with a lot of setbacks,” she said. “The reduction of the 23 units to the eight units is something, I think, is more appropriate.”

The new project will also include rooftop solar panels and noticeable setbacks to lessen the visual impact on the area. The units range in size from 2,637 to 3,242 square feet. With exception to one unit, each unit has three bedrooms, three and one-half bathrooms and a two-car garage.

The smallest unit has one bedroom, two bathrooms and a one-car garage. The units are four stories tall with a maximum building height of 45 feet, according to the staff report.

The council also discussed a possible subsidy to include an affordable unit as the developer requested to purchase one affordable housing unit credit from the Tavarua senior affordable apartments. Debbie Fountain, director of housing and neighborhood services for the city, said a general price for an affordable unit would be in excess of $120,000 so the developer could recover the cost between the affordable unit and a market-rate one.

The affordable unit also comes with a deed restriction; 55 years for a rental and 30 years for a for-sale residence. However, Councilwoman Cori Schumacher urged the developers and staff to include the affordable unit, noting the city’s housing fund is flush with more than $17 million to subsidize the unit.

“We understand the penciling of that, around the project,” she said of the cost adjustment for the developer. “If there is that hardship, the city would step up with the housing trust fund.”

The previous proposal called for a four-story mixed-use project with 23 condos and was in line with the previous Village Master Plan, according to Shannon Harker, associate planner with the city.

“When it came before us before at 23 units … I just couldn’t buy it,” Mayor Matt Hall said. “Especially with a car elevator. For me, it was just way too dense.”

Photo Caption: An eight-unit condo project on State Street in Carlsbad was approved by the City Council during its June 25 meeting. Photo by Steve Puterski.

2 comments

Rick Schneck July 12, 2019 at 7:30 am

This article illustrates how American freedom is being stolen by the likes of Schumacher and Hall. How long are we going to put up with these blatant communists?!

J Gordon July 18, 2019 at 5:45 pm

Mr. Schnick,

You don’t seem to be happy in Carlsbad. Maybe you should move away. Far away.

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