Santa Barbara Home Takes Flight in First-of-Its-Kind Habitat ADU Project

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - A house quite literally took to the skies over Santa Barbara Tuesday morning.

At Ortega Park, a crane slowly lifted a small, modern accessory dwelling unit — known as an ADU — and floated it above Cota Street as neighbors gathered to watch.

Phones were out. People pointed. Some couldn’t believe how smooth it looked.

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is behind the project, calling it a new chapter for affordable homeownership in the city.

This is the first time an ADU will be sold as an affordable home in Santa Barbara under a new state law, AB345 — opening the door for smaller, for-sale homes to help ease the housing crunch.

The modular unit was built off-site, then delivered and carefully lowered onto its foundation in front of a crowd of supporters, volunteers, and local leaders.

Once secured, volunteers and the future homeowners — Tony and Sierra — will help complete the finishing touches and landscaping.

For Habitat, it’s more than a construction milestone. It’s a key to the front door for a local family.

And for those watching a home hang in midair, it was a reminder that even in a tight housing market, new solutions are taking shape — sometimes 30 feet above the ground.

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