News

Sep 22, 2023

Developer's Donation Helps Boost Orcutt Senior Center Building Project

A developer’s donation on Monday will help propel the long-awaited new home for the Orcutt senior center into reality. The $10,000 donation came from Solstra Communities California, which had proposed

A developer’s donation on Monday will help propel the long-awaited new home for the Orcutt senior center into reality.

The $10,000 donation came from Solstra Communities California, which had proposed creating the brand-new Solomon Hills community with 4,000 homes, a school, a fire station, a post office and more on 1,903 acres south of Orcutt,

The newest donation will be directed to the fund for the new building, according to Amy Lammert, director of programs and operations for the senior center.

“Any donation or pledge is going to help immensely get this project off the ground,” Lammert said.

The Luis OASIS Center plans to relocate from aging portable buildings on leased land along Soares Avenue since the Orcutt Union School District has different plans for the site.

Orcutt Area Seniors in Service, or OASIS, received approval in December 2021 to build a 14,069-square-foot main building and a 1,592-square-foot ancillary barbecue/crafts structure on the northwest corner of Clark Avenue and Foxenwood Lane, near the eastern entrance to Old Town Orcutt.

But approvals in December 2021 came with 96 conditions that must be met. Those conditions, along with rising costs, have added challenges for the efforts to move the project forward.

Improvements once estimated at $250,000 now will cost closer to $700,000, Michelle Southwick, OASIS executive director, told the organization’s members.

OASIS plans two key fundraisers for ongoing operations along with the new building fund.

On Aug. 5, The Molly Ringwald Project will perform at Presqu’ile Winery with limited tickets available. Live music, local food vendors, raffles and more are planned for $46 per person.

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On Sept. 16, the Denim & Diamonds Fundraising Gala will take place at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, with tickets at $150 each.

Tickets for each event can be purchased online at www.oasisorcutt.org .

Costs for the new senior center facility likely will total $6.2 million, according to new estimates.

Jackson Washburn, Solstra’s development director, said the Solomon Hills oil field has had a long-time connection to Orcutt, where workers made their homes and raised families for decades.

“We consider us and the local community one and the same,” Washburn said.

They also recognize senior citizens remain an under-served section of the community

“We figured we could help this while hopefully freeing up some capital to help them finish that new facility,” Washburn said.

Solstra’s proposal is very early in the approval process through Santa Barbara County, and will require an environmental impact review.

Washburn said he remains optimistic the project will land before the county Planning Commission for formal consideration in early 2025.

“We’re very excited about the project and we look forward to working with the community and decision-makers and stakeholders on what the next steps are and what should actually be up there,” Washburn added.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at [email protected].