The City of Goleta’s Community Center property is located at 5679 Hollister Avenue and was formerly the site of the Goleta Union School, which was constructed in 1927. The school was closed in 1976 because it did not meet seismic standards for schools. In 1977 the property was leased, with an option to purchase, to the County of Santa Barbara to operate a community center. In 1984, the County sublet the property to the Goleta Valley Community Center (GVCC), a California non-profit corporation, for the purpose of operating a community center.

Upon incorporation in 2002, the City of Goleta assumed the existing lease from the County, subject to the continuing sublease of the GVCC organization. The City exercised the purchase option in 2013 and acquired the property from Goleta Union School District.

The GVCC organization rented out the rooms within the Community Center buildings, through long-term subleases and short-term event rentals to non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, and individuals. The GVCC also operated a Senior Program, which received separate annual financial support from the City through the Support to Other Agencies grant program. The City’s involvement in this operating model was largely as a property owner responsible for facility maintenance and providing a Councilmember to serve as a non-voting member of the GVCC organization’s Board of Directors. The GVCC organization utilized the sublease and rental income to support its operations and facility maintenance commitment under the lease. The GVCC continued to lease the property from the City at no cost through December of 2022, at which time their lease expired and the City assumed direct management of the Community Center.

Since acquiring the property, the Council has considered the future of the Community Center several times. It has long been acknowledged that there is a need to make significant repairs to the property, including seismic upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades, parking lot pavement replacement, and a general remodel.

Two of the biggest rooms in the main building have been closed since January of 2021 due to seismic safety concerns. The City began a seismic retrofit construction project in January of 2023 to address those concerns. The goal is to re-open the full facility for community use in early 2024. 

During the seismic retrofit construction, the main building will be closed for several months, however operations in the auxiliary buildings, including the CommUnify/Head Start programs, Rainbow School, and the Boys and Girls Club will continue as usual. After a brief pause during the month of December 2022, the Senior Center program resumed operation in January of 2023 under the management of the City of Goleta. For more information on these programs, please contact Kelsey Hamilton, Recreation Supervisor at khamilton@cityofgoleta.org, or by phone at 805-562-5533.

Following the seismic retrofit, the building will undergo disability access improvements to sidewalks, paths of travel, the bathrooms and sewer lines in the main building required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These projects are largely funded by federal grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and a federal Community Project Funding grant secured for the project through the efforts of Representative Salud Carbajal.

While the upcoming projects will ensure that the building is again fully usable, the entire building needs a refresh, both in functional systems and aesthetics. In addition, the parking lot and the Gazebo area in the front of the building need to be rebuilt and re-landscaped. More information about these future projects will be known after the first two phases of the construction project are completed, and a strategic plan is developed for the facility.

The City Council is committed to ensuring that the programs and services offered at the Community Center match the needs and interests of the Goleta community. A working group of community members worked with an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council to create a Strategic Plan for the Center. The Plan, which was adopted by the City Council on April 18, 2023, established a vision for the Goleta Community Center and the role it will play in our community over the short- and long-term and outlined specific steps that can be taken to achieve those goals. The Plan draws upon the results of an extensive community outreach process, which included surveys, focus groups and workshops. It also reflects priorities and needs identified by the working group, community members and other stakeholders. The Strategic Plan used this input to set the expectations for future management of the Community Center.

 Survey Results

In December 2022 and January 2023 the City released a survey to hear more about the community's vision for the GCC's future use and programming. See below for links to the results:

• Community Wide Survey Spanish Responses and English Responses
• Student Survey Spanish Responses and English Responses
• Program Provider Survey Responses

Goleta Community Center Business Hours

Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. or by Appointment.

Senior Program Hours

Monday - Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Hours Available for Facility Rentals

Facility Rental Hours are available Monday - Sunday

For any questions on the Goleta Community Center, contact 805-967-1237.