Friendship Manor senior community approved to move from Isla Vista to downtown Santa Barbara

The first step in relocating beloved senior living community Friendship Manor from Isla Vista, where it has been for more than 50 years, to downtown Santa Barbara was approved Monday. Friendship Manor’s board has been searching for the perfect place to move for over 20 years, according to project planner and board member Eva Turenchalk. When UCSB sought to purchase the vacant lot next to it, proposing student housing, the board decided the time was now. Two hundred senior residents will be relocated to a new four-story, 156 unit building at 701 North Milpas Street. “We’re really excited to be bringing Friendship Manor to the Milpas Corridor,” Turenchalk said. “We think the services and the area are going to be something our residents really enjoy.” Under State Density Bonus Law, 10% of the project’s units are required to be low-income. However, Turenchalk said that the entirety of the project will be affordable. The goal is to keep rent costing the same as it currently does in