Post-tornado cleanup

Habitat Santa Barbara provides help to Carpinteria homeowners

Santa Barbara company buys 65-room SLO hotel

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County (Habitat Santa Barbara) mobilized a team of volunteers and staff Friday to assist Carpinteria homeowners impacted by Tuesday’s tornado.

“It went really well. We had about 22 people including staff and volunteers who came out to help with the project,” Susan Renehan, the nonprofit’s director of philanthropy and external affairs, told the News-Press. “We were already working in the community with low-income homeowners. So when the tornado happened on Tuesday, we were already in a great position to come in and help with cleanup and debris removal.”

The volunteer work took place at the Sandpiper Mobile Home Village, which was directly in the path of the tornado. A rare event in Southern California, Tuesday’s wind event caused major damage to more than two dozen homes.

“Disaster recovery is an important part of the work of

Habitat for Humanity,” Jessica de L’Arbre, Habitat Santa Barbara’s CEO, said. “Building and repairing homes is at the heart of everything we do.

“Natural disasters often disproportionately impact lowincome community members, and we are grateful that we can be a part of the response to this extreme weather event,” she said.

“With the recent extreme weather, including Tuesday’s tornado, we have had a huge increase in calls from low-income households asking for assistance with roof repairs.

“We are honored to respond to the call for help — for the individual homes as well as to revitalize the community as a whole with clean-up and safety improvements.”

Volunteers on Friday also assisted homeowners in learning about Habitat Santa Barbara’s Home Repair Program, which provides critical home repairs to low-income homeowners.

“Everyone was feeling really

‘It is

one of the gems of the Central Coast,’ says Andrew Firestone

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Andrew Firestone and Jess Parker of the Santa Barbarabased hospitality development company StonePark Capital have announced their acquisition of Hotel Cerro, a 65-room hotel located in downtown San Luis Obispo (1125 Garden St.).

With a full-service restaurant and bar, state-of-the-art spa and wellness center, event space, and the only rooftop pool and bar in San Luis Obispo, Hotel Cerro is being promoted by the owners as the premier luxury destination for travelers to the Central Coast.

“We will be doing branding and design work on the interior, but we will not be touching the exterior,” Mr. Firestone told the News-Press Friday. “It’s a beautiful hotel with a cool combination of existing and new architecture. It fits so well into the downtown look and feel.

“It is open and operating; it is one of the gems of the Central Coast,” he said. “We will be welcoming guests with no interruption in service with upgrades. As we get into beautiful weather, we are heading into the busy travel season for San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast.”

Hotel Cerro will join the Autograph Collection Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of 30 brands, with design and branding updates to begin

COURTESY PHOTO immediately. This represents the third collaboration between Marriott International and StonePark Capital on the Central Coast . “This hotel is a hand-inglove fit with Marriott and the autograph collection,” said Mr.

Andrew Firestone and his wife Ivana stand outside Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo. Mr. Firestone and his business partner Jess Parker announced their company, Stone Capital, have acquired the luxury hotel.