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1600 Santa Barbara St.
.72 ACRE ESTATE | NEARLY 12,500 SQUARE FEET | BUILT IN THE 1940S
R3 ZONING | GRAND BALLROOM | HISTORIC LIVING ROOM
In our beautiful Southern California coastal enclave of Santa Barbara, there are a handful of properties of highly prominent significance, and rarely will any come up for sale. Now one of these treasured properties is for sale for the first time in its 85-year history, the McCormick House. Built in 1940 by the celebrated philanthropist Katherine McCormick and donated in 1968 to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the large structure and grounds of the McCormick House offer an estate buyer or an investor a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to acquire a generational property in the heart of the city.
After nearly 50 years of use as an art education center by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and previously as the private residence of Katherine McCormick, a new owner has a blank slate to re-imagine the approximately 12,500 square-foot structure (per plans), on a 0.72-acre parcel. The A++ location is 3 blocks to downtown Santa Barbara and to the center of the renowned Theater/Arts District; the property also sits as the entry gateway to the prestigious Upper East neighborhood, and is across the street from the gorgeous Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens.
12,500
BUILDING SITE SQ FT+/-
4
BEDROOMS
5
BATHROOMS
1
GRAND BALLROOM
0.72
ACRE
$7,500,000
THE MCCORMICK HOUSE
LISTED AT
The best investment on earth is earth.
Louis Glickman
THE PROPERTY
THE ARCHITECT
ZONING
TAX INCENTIVE
The architect was the well-regarded Chester Carolja who also designed many notable civic buildings of the period, including the Museum of Art building on State Street. In 1948 after her husband’s death, Katherine McCormick had the building converted to a residence, and over the following decade made alterations and additions to the home. All the changes to the residence were also designed by Chester Carolja, and in the same Minimal Traditional architectural style, providing a consistency of design throughout the structure. Katherine McCormick died at the end of 1967 and willed the property to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art for art education purposes
The R-M (Residential Multi Unit) zone is meant to allow a mix of multi-unit housing types while keeping the overall feel of a residential neighborhood. The goal is to protect the area's residential character by limiting uses that do not fit well in a neighborhood setting. Some nonresidential uses may be allowed if they support everyday neighborhood needs, fit in with the surrounding homes, and do not create major issues like extra traffic, parking problems, noise, or glare.
The Mills Act is California’s premier historic preservation program, designed to reward owners who steward and reinvest in architecturally significant properties. In exchange for preserving a building’s historic character, qualifying owners may receive substantial property tax reductions. 1600 Satna Barbara already holds a place on the City of Santa Barbara’s Historic Resources Inventory, and City staff have confirmed that a future owner could pursue Structure of Merit status, thereby meeting a key requirement for Mills Act eligibility. Under current City guidelines, Mills Act contracts can deliver property tax savings of 40–60% annually.
THE VIDEO
