Atascadero residents invited to groundbreaking celebration of Colony Square project

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• Garden Street Terraces project in SLO is approved by City Council

  Garden Street Terraces project in SLO is approved by City Council

  The heart of downtown San Luis Obispo will change significantly in coming years after developers were given the final approval needed to build 135,000 square feet of new commercial and residential buildings.

  The San Luis Obispo City Council voted 4-1, with Councilwoman Kathy Smith dissenting, late Tuesday night in support of Garden Street Terraces — despite hours of public comment from community members concerned about its modern architecture and planned gray-and-white color scheme.

  Mayor Jan Marx said she felt the project’s look clashed with the historic character of the surrounding buildings and tried to sway the support of her colleagues for several requirements she hoped to impose on the developer. Those changes included putting a bench in front of a planned market, lights in Garden Alley and a different color for the corner building on Broad and Marsh streets.

• Atascadero’s ideal downtown

  Atascadero’s ideal downtown

  In Atascadero’s ideal downtown, key gathering places and businesses are linked by pedestrian-friendly pathways. Such a vision is laid out in its downtown revitalization master plan adopted about a decade ago.

  While many of the plan’s ideas are still conceptual, a pedestrian footbridge project over Atascadero Creek could be complete in a year. The project also features a plaza, walking trail and creek restoration.

  Renderings of the approximately $1.6 million bridge and plaza project, now in the design phase, show people strolling between downtown’s Sunken Gardens and the new Colony Square. The footbridge will stretch from East Mall over the creek and into the shopping plaza.

• Huge Skechers shoe warehouse didn't bring jobs

  Huge Skechers shoe warehouse didn't bring jobs

  The Skechers move to a giant Riverside County shoe distribution hub apparently didn't result in jobs for Moreno Valley residents.

• Pismo Beach breaks ground on low-income housing project

  Pismo Beach breaks ground on low-income housing project

  A groundbreaking ceremony was held today in Pismo Beach at the site of the city’s first low-income housing project.

  The project at 360 Park Ave., near Ira Lease Park, will include 14 units built specifically for those who meet certain income levels, a community room, a laundry facility and meeting space.

  In March, the City Council and the Pismo Beach Redevelopment Agency approved a development agreement with San Luis Obispo-based Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, which will design, construct and manage the estimated $4.3 million project.

• Downtown Atascadero: Plans for creek coming into focus

  Downtown Atascadero: Plans for creek coming into focus

  Plans for Atascadero’s new creekside plaza and footbridge — the latest efforts in the city’s downtown revitalization — continue to take shape with fresh additions such as memorial bricks and a time capsule.

  The City Council last week approved the design of the multi-element project for the area of Atascadero Creek between the Sunken Gardens and Colony Square. Construction is slated for next year.

  Also included in the plans are a walking trail, creek habitat work and improvements to an adjacent public parking lot that’s currently dedicated to construction on the historic City Hall.