Trees fall for center remodel

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Construction crews cut down evergreen and eucalyptus trees throughout the Mesa Center parking lot over the past few days to make way for palm trees and tropical plants, part of an overall remodel of the shopping center at Cliff Drive and Meigs Road in Santa Barbara that has many local residents up in arms.

“They are ripping out these huge, healthy trees and putting in palm trees that don’t do much of anything,” Scott Christopher, a Mesa resident for 12 years, told the Daily Sound. “Nobody I met on the Mesa was happy with any of it.”
Kevin Prusinsky, who lived on Mesa Lane for most of his life and attended Monroe Elementary School just down the road from the center, agreed.
“Anytime they cut trees down it sucks,” Prusinsky said. “They cut a whole mess of them down too.”
Marilyn Leafdale, commercial property supervisor for Investec Management Corporation, which owns the center, said the tree removal is necessary and will make the shops more attractive.
“The trees that are being removed are part of the overall changes that are being made to transform the dated 50s look into a more updated look that Santa Barbara is famous for,” Leafdale said in a letter she sent to businesses, residents and the Daily Sound. “...All trees will be replaced with more native species and palm trees. There will be more landscaped islands in the parking lot than now exist - so there will be more trees and shrubs replanted in the parking lot than are being removed.”
Leafdale said the roots of some of the older trees are lifting sections of the asphalt and concrete, causing a tripping hazard. They also drip sap on cars and customers, she added. Crews will remove 78 trees and plant 221 new trees, including 133 palms.
Replanting will start in about 4 to 6 weeks, Leafdale said, adding that some areas will take longer due to a defunct irrigation system that will be replaced.
“Some customers may need a pause before change can be fully accepted, but in the long run I believe everyone will be pleased with the final outcome,” Leafdale said.
In addition to replacing the majority of trees in the area, construction crews are currently stripping down the facade above Super Cucas, Video Visions and Heidi’s Hallmark. They plan to renovate the length of the shopping center in stages, hoping to finish at Fosters Freeze in February.
“We are removing the front overhang ... to replace it with a Spanish-style new facade,” Leafdale said.
Fernando Orta, construction manager, told the Daily Sound that the building hasn’t been changed for at least 50 years, other than the west end of the structure, which was built 25 years ago. Businesses will remain open, Orta said, protected by plywood tunneling as construction crews work on the roof above.
“They’ve been cooperating,” Orta said of the business owners. “We try to keep them up-to-date.”
Crews will also reface and repaint the entire parking lot, including employee parking behind the stores, a process Orta said should only take one day. As far as the trees that have been chopped down, Orta said they can be used as firewood, saying, “We just told people to come by and pick them up.”