Historic buildings in downtown SLO sold to Central Valley farming family

Five separate commercial buildings with deep historic roots in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo have been sold.

The group of adjoining buildings on the corner of Higuera and Chorro streets — now occupied by The Network Shopping Center, Avanti and other tenants — was sold as part of an estate sale of the Leslie Naman Trust to the Davis family, which has a long history of farming in California's Central Valley, according to Dale Anderson, the estate trustee.

Anderson declined to provide more details about the Davis family, saying he wasn't authorized to say more.

He said he also wasn't given permission to release the sale price, though he previously told The Tribune it was "expected to be several million dollars."

Anderson released a statement by email from the new owners, noting: "Our intent is to operate and maintain the property in keeping with the Naman family tradition. We consider it a privilege to join the community of San Luis Obispo through the acquisition of this historical property."

The property starts at The Network on Higuera Street and continuously extends around the corner to Chorro Street, cutting off at the building that houses Luna Red restaurant.

The tenants of the commercial spaces, including Creeky Tiki, Cowboy Cookie & Ice Cream, Which Which Superior Sandwiches and BarrelHouse Brewing Co., among others, can remain through the terms of their lease agreements, which are typically three to five years, Anderson said.

"Anyone who has a lease, that’s a right of the tenant and an obligation of the new owner to see the terms through," Anderson said. "Obviously, we have no control over what happens in the future."

Anderson said he introduced the tenants to the new owners Friday, which marked the close of the sale. Negotiations have taken place over the past year.

"The new owners are happy that this has happened," Anderson said. "They believe it's a good fit, and they appreciated the long-term perspective of the Naman family."

The first of the buildings near San Luis Obispo Creek and Mission San Luis Obispo was purchased in the 1860s by Charles Johnson, the city’s first mayor, who bequeathed it to his family. The property remained in the family over five generations as Johnson’s descendants added buildings to the commercial row.

The buildings had been owned and operated by local physician Leslie “Les” Naman, who died in 2014 at the age of 72. His parents, Evins and Dorothy Johnson Naman, a blood relative of Johnson, managed the buildings before Les Naman inherited them.

Buildings on the block were made of wood in the 1800s and then construction with brick in the early 1900s after San Luis Obispo saw a boom around the turn of the century, Anderson said.

The city's growth came after the railroad that connected San Francisco to San Luis Obispo was built in 1894, and the stretch needed to connect it to Los Angeles was completed in 1901..

The buildings in recent years have been retrofitted in phases, the first of them in the 1990s.

Anderson said the reason for the sale was that none of the heirs live locally.

"The heirs are established and entrenched in their local communities," Anderson said. "They felt it better to divest and invest close to home where they all live."

Anderson said the sale, nonetheless, was "kind of a sad moment to know those properties are no longer in the family."

This story was originally published April 28, 2018 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Historic buildings in downtown SLO sold to Central Valley farming family."