Construction on iconic Santa Maria house, new community center moving forward
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Santa Maria has approved funds continue construction on the long-planned Ranch Historical House Park.
The Santa Maria City Council recently approved $1,679,426 in funding to begin Phase III of the project, which features various site improvements, including grading, utilities, hardscape features, ADA accessible ramps, parking lot improvements, electrical infrastructure, and the construction of a trash enclosure and decorative entry monument.
The project entails the complete refurbishment of the historic Smith-Enos House, as well as the construction of the brand new Japanese Community Center.
Located along South College Drive across the street from Costco and behind the Enos Ranch Center, the planned recreational facilities have been in the works for many years.
“This project has been ongoing for about 15 years,” said Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Director Alex Posada. “The original phase of the project was to bring the house down to this location and to kind of create a park around it. About five years ago, the Japanese Community Center group brought forward a proposal to help fund the community center portion, which is now the replica barn at the back of the house.”
The Japanese Community Community Center will be a 10,000 square foot event center designed to hold community events, cultural and social gatherings, as well preserve and educate both residents and visitors on the pioneering history of the Japanese in the Santa Maria Valley, particularly the contributions of the Issei, the first generation immigrants.
The Issei played a significant role in establishing the agricultural history in the Santa Maria Valley.
“We came to the valley in the early 1900s and it’s just very important to me and to the club to preserve this history,” said Japanese Community Center board member Wes Koyama. “This is part of the way we’re going to preserve our history in the Valley. We actually started in Guadalupe, but came here to Santa Maria. And, a lot of us have migrated out of the area. Our group got together and and we thought, what is the best way to preserve the history of the Santa Maria Japanese in this valley? This deal came up through the city and it was just perfect. It’s a perfect opportunity to showcase what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished and hopefully we can preserve this history for future generations to learn about what we’ve done here.”
Once completed, the renovated 150-year-old Smith-Enos House, will also serve as a new community gathering place.
“The house itself will be more for small groups,” said Posada. “Maybe for a committee meeting of 12 or 20 or something of that nature. There will also be some exhibit room set up to try to emulate what the house looked like when it was originally built.”
With the Phase III now secured, work will soon begin on the site work, bringing completion for both projects a little closer into focus.
“Hopefully by the end of the year, we’ll be seeing something completed,” Posada said about the Japanese Community Center. “The house is going to take a little bit longer. We’re going to be reaching out to the community again to help us raise the funds to get the interior completed.”
While Phase III will complete the necessary work to open the Japanese Community Center, a future Phase IV is needed to finish the Smith-Enos House.
“The final phase of the project, we hope will be Phase IV, which will be fundraising for the interior of the house,” said Posada. “The community has been really great. We have scores of pieces of furniture that was donate that were donated for the house, and so we have plenty of furniture, but now we’re looking for the funding to complete the interior of the house. I would estimate that we’re probably looking at about a $250,000 price tag to finish the house in its interior.”
With funding for Phase IV still a ways off, an estimated time for completion and opening of the Smith-Enos House is still premature.
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