SANTA BARBARA – The former Californian Hotel is undergoing major changes and by August the façade will be the only walls standing as the interior is set to be demolished.
The historic building is part of a bigger plan for lower State Street and will be one of three new hotel buildings near Stearns Wharf.
"We've taken out the storefronts and the arcade and the beams and the old roof tiles to save them and we're securing them now and when we rebuild the building we'll put them back in," said Eloise Hardey, project spokesperson.
Part of the project includes revamping State and Mason Streets. State from the train tracks to Cabrillo Boulevard will have one lane in each direction with larger sidewalks for pedestrians.
The 35 State Street Hotel Partners will be adding public parking as well.
The three buildings should be completed by 2016. A hotel operator has not yet been chosen.
