The city of Santa Maria is one step closer to breaking ground on 85 new senior housing units at the corner of Broadway and Stowell Road. A new three-story building will sustain 54 units, and an additional 31 will be added to the existing Vandenberg Senior Residence property.
Apartments will be available for people 55 years and older who earn 60 percent or less of the area’s median income, City Planner Cody Graybehl explained at the Planning Commission meeting on Feb. 18.
“I think it’ll be a successful project because we know we’ve got a lot more seniors every day,” Planning Commission Chair Tim Seifert said.
Commissioners approved the permit with a 3-0 vote. Robert Dickerson recused himself because he lives near the site, and Yasameen Mohajer was absent.
An L-shaped building is set to occupy roughly 40,000 square feet facing Stowell Road. Inside there’ll be 25 studios, 17 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedrooms ranging from 400 to 800 square feet.
Residents will also have access to a bus stop with shelter and a turnout on Stowell.
“I think it’ll be a nice refreshment to that corner,” Commissioner Tom Lopez said.
In the middle of the 4.9 acres, located at 1314 S. Broadway, the outdoor area will be redesigned to include a pool, lounge area, and barbecue pits. Landscaping and gardens will be added, and the Vandenberg Senior Residence will be repainted to match the new complex.
Developers also plan to refurbish the Vandenberg Senior Residence sign to reflect the building’s history as a hotel, which was originally built in the 1960s. Architect Michael Song of EZ Plans said he saw the original rendering and was inspired to incorporate the “atomic ranch” style design into his company’s modern plans.
To round out the project, 31 units will be added to Vandenberg Senior Residence. Builders want to convert the nonresidential space on the first floor to studios. The area was once a restaurant and bar from the building’s hotel era but hasn’t been maintained, according to the staff report.
An additional 2,225 square feet will be built onto the property for the rest of the new apartments at Vandenberg Senior Residence. All but one unit will be studios, according to the staff report, ranging from 370 to 494 square feet. New recreation and fitness rooms are set to accompany the studios.
Previous iterations of the project went before the Planning Commission in the past. The current proposal is an amended version of a 2017 planned development that never came to fruition. Most recently, commissioners discussed the project at a study session last December.
“Senior housing—and housing in general—is something that we need in the community,” Planning Commission Chair Esau Blanco said on Feb. 18. “So, I feel like this is a very good project.”
Next, the developer must submit drawings to the city as part of its building permit application.
This article appears in March 5 – March 12, 2026.