We’ve spent decades building the places that define everyday life on the Central Coast, from clinics and historic theaters to neighborhood institutions and even exhibits at the Santa Barbara Zoo! In downtown Santa Barbara, one new project captures both our history and our direction: an Integrated Care Campus for Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara, where housing and healthcare will share the same front door. When completed later this year, it will be the first building in Santa Barbara since 1946 to exceed the city's 45-foot height limit, following the Planning Commission's unanimous approval of a first-of-its-kind exception for Sanctuary Centers' mixed-use development.
A Downtown Home for Care
Set just a few blocks from State Street, the campus is designed for people who have long been at the margins of our community’s housing market and health system: adults, including veterans, living with mental illness and co‑occurring disorders, many with very low incomes and complex needs. Instead of asking them to navigate multiple locations and providers, the building will bring permanent supportive housing, medical and dental care, and behavioral health services together under one roof.
Residents will live in studio apartments within the building, and clinic spaces will be conveniently located just a few floors away, designed so that a doctor’s visit or counseling session is no longer a complicated trip across town.
Innovation at the Intersection of Housing and Healthcare
This campus is built around a simple yet ambitious idea. Designed by Cearnal Collective, LLP, it brings housing and healthcare together in a single building that functions as both a home and a clinic. Housing floors are stacked with clinic‑grade space, so residents can access healthcare services in the same place they live. The apartments are designed to feel like home, while the clinical areas are built for privacy, safety, and efficiency. That balance is central to Sanctuary Centers’ model of integrated, whole‑person care.
As Sanctuary Centers’ president, Barry Schoer, explained in an interview with KEYT News Channel 3‑12, “There is no other integrative clinic in Santa Barbara that specifically focuses on the physical health needs of individuals with mental illness and substance abuse. That is what we specialize in and what we’ve been doing for ten years.”
We’re proud to deliver the unique design that strengthens Sanctuary Centers’ approach to recovery for our neighbors who need it most.
Built on Local Experience, Aimed at Community Benefit
Our work on this campus grows out of years of building healthcare facilities, community spaces, and complex urban projects across Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. We’ve learned that innovation only matters if it’s delivered safely, on schedule, and in a way that will serve the people who use the space.
This project reflects our belief that well‑designed, well‑built facilities can shape how communities come together, and we’re proud to help bring that vision to life here at home.
If you’d like to learn more about Sanctuary Centers, check out sanctuarycenters.org. To connect with our team, send us a message at info@schipperconstruction.com.