Group objects to plans for
third level on historic building

By CAMILLA COHEE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Beanie Babies mogul Ty Warner's three-year and $30 million vision of returning the weathered Coral Casino to its 1937 sheen has blurred over the difference between restoration and rehabilitation.

More than 90 percent of the Montecito shorefront club's 1,600 members have voted in favor of Mr. Warner's plans to restore the site along the lines of its original design. His proposal is currently under review by the county and headed for a hearing before the Montecito Planning Commission.

Three county-approved historians hired by Mr. Warner to review the project - the club was deemed a county historic landmark last year- have given their OK. This comes after three years of often-contentious meetings between members, architects, historians, residents and the owner.

But all along, a small but vocal group of self-described preservationists has argued that the rehabilitation is an affront to architect Gardner Dailey's original design - a simple, linear balanced structure blurring indoors and outdoors that he called his "Gem of the Pacific."

The opposition's main gripe is a proposal to raise La Perla restaurant from the first floor to the second, where a members-only deck with 360-degree views would be added to the roof. They argue that the addition of a third-story creates a dramatic imbalance to the overall structure, making the light tower a mere stub and diminishing the building's architectural integrity. The club is a rare, surviving example of Mr. Dailey's signature International style, also described as moderne.

Mr. Warner, however, prefers to honor the spirit of Mr. Dailey rather than the letter of his blueprints.

"While a lot of time and hard work went into this plan, the essence of it is actually very pure and simple," Mr. Warner explained. "We want to improve services, re-engage the club with the spectacular surrounding views of the ocean and mountains, and return some of the historic beauty that has been lost over the years."

His plans include such intricate details as recreations of original tasseled umbrellas, poolside lounge chairs, and redwood deck throughout The building would return to its original color scheme, two tones of color and white. Additions made over the years, such as a fitness center and storage area at the outer west wing, would be removed to re-establish sweeping ocean views.

Locker rooms would be remodeled, ramps and elevators installed to make the building handicap accessible. The light tower, which began leaning this summer after heavy winds, would be gutted and reinforced. The peculiar reindeer-spotted carpet in the ballroom would go, too.

"We want to walk into that building and feel as they did on that opening night back in 1937," said lead architect David VanHoy. His firm, Santa Barbara-based LYVA, has worked for three years on the project "The only difference is that there will be a ballroom that didn't exist in 1937 and a restaurant that replicates the original restaurant which will have the same configuration, just one level above."

The Coral Casino serves guests at the adjacent Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel - also owned by Mr. Warner -but caters mainly to its private members who pay a minimum of $200 in monthly dues and fees. Enrollment fees are more than $20,000. No new members are being enrolled now. Mr. Warner has pledged not to raise existing members' fees for another 12 years. Doug Large, a local attorney and longtime member who has served on the club's elected governing board, is grateful that Mr. Warner purchased the club, along with the Biltmore and adjacent Arco Conference Center.

"The Coral Casino is an idyllic, wonderful place, a treasure for all members and I want to make sure it's a treasure for my children," Mr. Large said. "I believe the only way to preserve the Coral Casino is to rehabilitate it"

Mr. Large said he's saddened that a small group of people in opposition could derail the plan.

"They can continue to appeal the project through every level. They can force a developer to great expense, which is where Mr. Warner finds himself right now."

Mr. Warner's spokesman, Greg Rice of Keystone Advisors, said the billionaire has already spent millions.

"There is no place with this level of scrutiny in the world. We've spent $7 million between trying to do the Breakers (The Arco Center) and preparing this plan, and we haven't driven one nail "Mr. Rice said.

Two years ago, the Coral Casino started as a $12 million project When you take into consideration all of the historical sensitivities, we're now looking at a $30 million project"

All agree that the club is in need of repair.

"It's a wood-frame building that has been sitting on the ocean for 60-some years. It's tired. It's a building in need of fundamental and structural renovations," said Mr. VanHoy. He said the building suffers from termite infestation and dry rot, is not up to building codes and could be considered a safety hazard. An air conditioner fell through the roof one recent summer.

"We have to get going on this before it falls down, or before we have to close it down because it's uninsurable," Mr. VanHoy said.

The proposed alterations to the club caught the attention of J. Russel Levikow of Levikow Associates, the San Francisco-based architecture firm he inherited from Mr. Dailey, who died in 1967. Mr. Levikow traveled to Montecito several times during the past three years to offer his opinion on the project.

"It's the forces of preservation versus the forces of profit," he said. "Here I am, a repented sinner, not having done a very good job in protecting his buildings.

"They're just loading up that west side and they're shortening the tower and it's totally out of balance. They may be offering some historic restoration on some parts, but that's just icing on the cake. It's the massing that bothers me.

"But who am I to tell the good people of Santa Barbara what to do with their building? This goes to the values they have about that kind of landmark building."

Mr. VanHoy said a true restoration of the building is not possible, because there are functions that have been added to the club over the years, such as the ballroom, that the community and most members want.

"You can be sensitive to history, restore portions of the building, but also provide contemporary functions so that the building will have another 65 years of life," he said. "If you came at it with a restoration standpoint, you have a building that is true to Dailey's original design, but doesn't function in the year 2003."