Retrofit Atlas

Golf courses · California

North Campus Open Space (NCOS)

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRegreenedRetrofit builtGoleta, CA

Opened 1960. Redeveloped · Regreened in 2017.

Status nowRetrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
What it becameeducation, other, parkWikipedia no source
Site size136 acresnewtypes-extraction reported
Last sale$7.0M · 2013public reporting
Retrofit year2017newtypes-extraction reported
Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Map view. No verified photo yet. Send one.

Site profile7 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $3,279/mo zillow · all sites with this
Policy tool
Public grant or loanThis site: …grant funding from several federal, state, and local agencies 136 newtypes-extraction · all sites with this
Scale
60+ acre siteThis site: 136 acres newtypes-extraction · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: 136-acre wetland and upland restoration project (55 ha) in Goleta, California. Managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) record · all sites with this
RegreenedThis site: 136-acre wetland and upland restoration project (55 ha) in Goleta, California. Managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) record · all sites with this
New use
EducationThis site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this
Park and open spaceThis site: 136-acre wetland and upland restoration project (55 ha) in Goleta, Californi newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusRetrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
StrategyRedeveloped · RegreenedWikipedia no source
New useseducation, other, parkWikipedia no source
What is there now136-acre wetland and upland restoration project (55 ha) in Goleta, California. Managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER)newtypes-extraction reported
Retrofit year2017newtypes-extraction reported
RedeveloperThe Regents of the University of Californianewtypes-extraction reported

Planning

Public purchase or subsidygrant funding from several federal, state, and local agenciesnewtypes-extraction reported

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2013Sold$7.0M closedThe Trust for Public LandWikipedia

Site context

Housing permits, Santa Barbara County (CA), 2024249 units in 5+ unit buildings, 20 in 2–4, 481 single-family; 2023: 80 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby0 within 10 km, 2 within 25 kmcomputed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)18,147 jobs in 1,394 establishments; average annual pay $44,816; employment location quotient 0.85; employment -1.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022185 jobs; 0 in retail trade, 0 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 06083002937)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 48th income percentile as adults; 9.5% incarcerated at the 2010 count (52 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 2% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 11.1%; median family income $72,813; 15 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsSanta Barbara Unified School District (7-12) (07-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Isla Vista ElementaryNCES EDGE
Elevation16 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-202562 county-logged events: 41 flash flood, 10 thunderstorm wind, 7 debris flow, 3 funnel cloud; $617,022,000 property damage reported; 21 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 93117, 2026-09median list price $1,394,250 (+0.9% on the year); 44 active listings; median 46 days on market; 13% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,479 establishments (-2%); 19,196 jobs (+2%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $988,595 (+4% 1 yr, +30% 5 yr); typical rent $3,279/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research

Summary, model-written

Former golf course (1960–2017) retrofitted as 136-acre wetland/upland restoration (NCOS). Completed in 2017, managed by UC Santa Barbara’s CCBER. Public grant funding used. No active development or retail use. 63 acres purchased by The Trust for Public Land in 2013. Current status: restored park (no new use specified beyond 'park' in strategy).

Why. Retrofit already built (2017), 136 acres, public grant-funded. No current commercial activity or development. Peer comparisons (e.g., Villa Italia Mall) irrelevant as NCOS is complete.

Where it stands. No ongoing deals or active development. Status: built, restored, publicly managed. Unknown if additional parcels are planned for development.

For a planner

  • Publicly managed restoration project
  • No private development activity
  • Funded via public grants

For a developer

  • No active opportunity (retrofit complete)
  • 136 acres not available for new development
  • No current market activity (rent data irrelevant)

What we do not know yet

  • No current development plans
  • No private ownership or sale activity
  • Median rent $2,050 cited but not applicable (public park)

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • Villa Italia Mall, Lakewood, CO · Malls · similar size (104 acres); opened 1966; same strategy: redevelop, regreen
  • Northland Center, Southfield, MI · Malls · similar size (159 acres); opened 1954; same strategy: redevelop, regreen
  • Dunes hotel-casino, Paradise, NV · Golf courses · opened 1955; same strategy: redevelop
  • Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Beach, CA · Golf courses · similar size (128.5 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in CA

Elsewhere on the web

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • 136 acres
  • median rent $2,050

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Now called / also known asNorth Campus Open Space
Opened1960newtypes-extraction
Acres136newtypes-extraction reported
CountySanta Barbara County
Census division9 · Pacific
NotesDraft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former golf course in Goleta, California, was retrofitted into the 136-acre North Campus Open Space, a wetland and upland restoration project with public access and educational programs.

Not yet recorded: GLA, original developer. Know it? Tell us.

Background

North Campus Open Space (NCOS) is a 136-acre wetland and upland restoration project (55 ha) in Goleta, California. Managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER), a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), the property had been previously developed into a golf course.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1960 Ocean Meadows golf course created by filling wetland
  2. 1960 Opened
  3. 2013 The Trust for Public Land purchased 63 acres of the former golf course
  4. 2017 Restoration efforts began
  5. 2017 Retrofit: redevelop, regreen
  6. 2018 60 percent of vegetated area planted
  7. 2019 Ventura marsh milk-vetch reintroduced
  8. 2021 Trails and visitor plaza established

Sources

  • North Campus Open Space · CC BY-SA 4.0
    7 quoted sentences
    North Campus Open Space (NCOS)
    The excavation and relocation of approximately 350,000 cubic yards of topsoil was used to fill the wetland in the mid-1960s for creating the Ocean Meadows golf course.
    In 2013, The Trust for Public Land purchased 63 acres (25 ha) of the former golf course with $7 million of grant funding from several federal, state, and local agencies
    Restoration efforts at NCOS, directed by CCBER, began in 2017.
  • Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration · CC BY-SA 4.0
    1 quoted sentence
    North Campus Open Space

More in California