The Goleta City Council has approved a combination hotel and condo project for a prominent property along Hollister Avenue -- a major step toward rehabilitating the blighted stretch in a city founded on a slow-growth platform.
In a 4-0 vote, council members late Monday gave their final OK to the Old Town Inn and Village at 5665 Hollister near Highway 217 -- by far the largest of a handful of projects they have approved since Goleta incorporated in early 2002.
"We've got a long way to go to get the project permitted and ultimately built, and sold and put into operation," Santa Barbara architect-developer Detlev Peikert said Tuesday. "But we feel optimistic."
He said a ceremonial groundbreaking could happen in a month. Construction on the 98-room, three-story Hampton Inn and 37-condo complex could start in April and finish in spring 2006.