Grover Beach to buy county land for train station expansion, upgrades

The Grover Beach City Council has agreed to purchase 42,000 square feet of land from San Luis Obispo County to make way for the city’s anticipated transit station expansion project.

The city will buy the county land just to the south of the train station at Grand Avenue and Highway 1 for $320,000, using funds from Proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by California voters in 2006.

The land was formerly the site of a homeless encampment, which the city cleared out in January to begin work on the expansion project.

The project would expand the Amtrak station and relocate bus loading and unloading facilities so all activities happen on the same side of the track. The expanded station would also feature an entrance that is slightly farther from the highway, has more lighting and possibly more businesses nearby, such as a car rental or wine tasting rooms that could bring more activity to that end of the city.

Grover Beach received $2.1 million in grant funds for the project, including $1.6 million from the Federal Highway Administration.

The land purchase agreement, which the City Council approved Monday, is still subject to Board of Supervisors approval. The supervisors are expected to discuss it in January, with an anticipated closing date in February. The city will also need to get approval from the Federal Highway Administration and finalize the county agreement before it can start construction.

In the meantime, the project has been assigned to Rick Engineering Co. for preliminary design work.

Grover Beach staff predict the city will receive all the necessary approvals for the project in early March. If bid in March, construction could be begin as soon as June.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Grover Beach to buy county land for train station expansion, upgrades."