Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Some of the new developments being proposed, approved or under construction in Ventura.

Mission Apartments – Interior and exterior improvements. Corner of Oak and Santa Clara Streets. Under review at Historic Preservation Committee on July 20. Staff report with specific details to be published in the Agenda Center  (cityofventura.ca.gov/agendacenter) on July 15.

 

HPC Purpose – Report to the Planning Commission, advise and recommend concerning the designation of historic districts, landmark sites, natural configurations, buildings, structures, and points of interest significant to the heritage and development of the City.

 

 Anacapa Courts- 4 story mixed use development 24 condominiums, 3850 sq ft commercial space approved and recently sold to a new developer located at 299 East Main.

 

 

Willow/ Ravello- 2-4 story buildings (13 separate buildings) with 306 apartments and 5000 sq ft of commercial space under construction at Northbank and Johnson Drives

 

For more information go to www.LivableVentura.com or access the city development map at www.cityofventura.ca.gov Permit Services “button” or Development Map Permit Services | Ventura, CA for projects Under Review, Scheduled for Hearing or Entitled (Approved) and Under Construction.

The Dark Watchers

Is this tall black figure one of the mysterious “Black Watchers”? Photo by Patricia Schallert

by Richard Senate

In passing though Ventura’s City Hall the other day, I paused to look at the decorative mural in the atrium. It was inspired by the sacred cave paintings of the Chumash People found in the Ventura County back country.

I saw that one of the images depicted was a tall black figure and that reminded me of stories I heard of the mysterious “Black Watchers” seen in San Luis Obispo County and Avila Beach. They are reported in the Big Sur area and along the Santa Lucia Mountains. They have been seen and reported for well over two hundred years.

The Spanish called them, “Los Vigilantes Oscuros” (The Dark Watchers) and they traced them back to the Chumash People.  They are described as tall, perhaps ten feet in height, wearing capes or robes, featureless forms, more silhouettes that figures. All black and motionless. They simply watch hikers and when approached, they vanish. Some believe they are negative spirit forms and can only bring bad luck. They have been seen for decades and even found their way into John Steinbeck’s short story “Flight” that appeared in his collection of short tales titled “The Long Valley.”

Steinbeck’s son Thomas Steinbeck told that he encountered one of them while hiking long ago. The images seem to only appear at dawn and dusk, when the sun is low in the high mountains, leading some to speculate that such sightings are similar to the Broeker Specter seen in the German  Alps.   A trick of the shadows or reflections in the mists?

Skeptics discount the recent sightings in the Big Sur of the Dark Watchers to drug induced hallucinogenic manifestations.    But such accounts remind me of stories of Shadow People, or the mysterious Hat Man seen by some. I recall one story of a hiker near Topa-topa in Ojai who saw such an apparition. I wonder if any others have seen this figure here in Ventura County?

Tree Town

Santa Clara Street in downtown Ventura has had several empty tree wells which have recently been planted with Santa Cruz Island Ironwood trees. This is a native evergreen tree that has low water requirement and grows well in the Channel Islands region. It flowers in the spring and summer, and its size will be up to 50 feet tall and 24 feet wide. Look forward to seeing these unique trees provide more shade and beauty in our downtown!

venturatreealliance.com

Pirates never had it this good

Hide your gold and women the pirates have landed.

The Devil’s Gauntlet, a replica of a 1767 dispatch carrier dubbed the Brigantine Sultana, is now docked in the Ventura Harbor.

Daniel Blevins Catalano (Pirate Dan), a Fresno native, purchased the ship from Denis Boulankine and Tatiana Boulankina for $1. He has since made extensive (and expensive) improvements to the ship.

“The boat was in such bad shape that she was ready to be hauled, crushed or sunk. … They ended up releasing the boat to me for $1 just to get rid of the headache basically,” said dynamic Daniel Blevins Catalano.

A Craigslist ad ensnared Catalano’s interest in the ship. After a Florida hurricane destroyed the Queen Anne’s Revenge, his 120-foot gaff rigged schooner, Catalano required a new vessel to marry two longtime passions: pirates and helping veterans and first responders. A veteran himself, Catalano envisioned creating a reality television show about these modern-day heroes as they cope with post-traumatic stress disorders and injuries and with drug and alcohol abuse by masquerading as pirates.

Outside, she resembles an 18th-century pirate ship with custom woodwork, skeleton figureheads and 5,000 feet of rigging. Inside, she swaggers with modern conveniences like LED lights, many flat screen TVs, a full bar, modern kitchen and sleeping for up to 24 if necessary and the latest navigational equipment.

Dan has purchased pirate outfits, swords, black powder guns and even cannons to compliment the ship. The ship’s future in Ventura Harbor is still to be determined. A future article will deal with that.

Ventura celebrates groundbreaking of Westview Village Phase II

The HACSB is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura.

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) and nonprofit BRIDGE Housing are pleased to announce the construction of Westview Village Phase II, a 50-unit affordable rental development, broke ground on April 18, 2022. Westview Village Phase II will replace 10 public housing units with 50 modern one- and two-bedroom apartments. The property is located on a 2-acre site at 247 W. Warner Street, on the Westside of Ventura. The development includes forty-four (44) one-bedroom and six (6) two-bedroom apartments. Five of the units will be reserved for persons who are experiencing homelessness. Westview Village II will also include a state-of-the-art community center, a commercial kitchen, two early childhood development classrooms, multipurpose rooms, and a public park. “This will complete the vision for the Westview Village redevelopment. There will be 285 new affordable rentals and this phase of development will be the hub for this new housing campus. It will include a state-of-the-art accessible playground for all children to be able to play and enjoy the outdoors. The redevelopment is not only for this generation, but it was also planned for the next generation of families”, said Denise Wise, Chief Executive Officer of the HACSB

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura and BRIDGE Housing partnered to redevelop Westview Village, the HACSB’s oldest public housing development, over four phases of development. A total of 180 public housing units will be transformed into 320 new affordable apartments and for-sale homes. The first phase of construction was completed in 2019 and replaced 72 public housing units with 131 modern affordable one- to four-bedroom multi-family apartments. Phase III is anticipated to be complete in August 2022 and will replace 69 public housing units with 105 modern affordable one- to four-bedroom multi-family apartments. There will be a set-aside of 20 units for previously homeless families.

Financing for the $35 million Westview Village II development is being provided by US Bank, N.A.: US Bancorp Community Development Corporation, Housing Trust Fund Ventura County, City of Ventura, County of Ventura, CA Department of Housing and Community Development, the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura, and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. Westview Village II LP is the owner, and the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura will be the property manager and service coordinator. RRM Design Group (fka Mainstreet Architects + Planners Inc.) is the Executive Architect, and Cannon Constructors South is the General Contractor.

To learn more about the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura, visit hacityventura.org. For more information about BRIDGE, visit bridgehousing.com.

The HACSB is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura, with 219 public housing units, more than 1,480 Housing Choice Vouchers, and 821 nonprofit affordable rental units. The agency is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing and improve the quality of life and help its residents achieve self-sufficiency and or age in place.

BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer of affordable housing, creates and manages a range of high-quality, affordable homes for working families and seniors. Since it was founded in 1983, BRIDGE has participated in the development of over 16,000 homes in California and the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

What does the DRC do?

The purpose of the city Design Review Committee is to review, consider approve or deny applications for approval of design of architectural, landscaping, aesthetics for public and private projects, applications for sign variances, and proposed design elements or components of specific plans, historic districts, or other special areas.

The Committee Members are (there are 2 vacant seats)
Albert Antelman, Chair
William Growdon, Vice Chair
Anthony Tomasello

Local nonprofit wins big on America Says!

The Food Share Squad pulled ahead of their competitors.

Four staff members from Food Share, Ventura County’s largest hunger-relief organization, just won big on The Game Show Networks’ season five of America Says! Comedian, John Michael Higgins, is the host of this popular fill-in-the-blank guessing game.

The invitation to compete came via a fellow Feeding America food bank and was a great way to put the fun in fundraising! Food Share’s President & CEO, Monica White; Jennifer Caldwell, Chief Development Officer; Pam Castro, Agency Relations Manager, and Ed Skains, Facilities Coordinator, headed down to a studio in Burbank, and the “Food Share Squad” went head to head against “The Inlaws” in a fierce competition.

After a nerve-wrackingly slow start the Food Share squad pulled ahead of their competitors and made it to the one minute buzzer round, walking away with the full prize money of $15,000!

“We had an absolute blast,” commented Monica White. “It was completely terrifying but after a losing streak we managed to pull through. What a fun way to be able to bring in funds to help serve our community!”

All proceeds are being dedicated to Food Share.