After 36 years, downtown SLO auto shop moves to make way for condos, stores

Landis Auto Services has been working on cars on the corner of Marsh and Carmel streets in downtown San Luis Obispo for over three decades. But the auto shop relocated at the beginning of the month — making way for a four-story, mixed-use storefront and townhouse building.

Although the shop moved to 3566 S. Higuera St., they have not changed their services. And the Landis Auto Sales lot will remain at 396 Marsh St., according to John Adame, manager at Landis Auto Services.

Renton Partners LLC, a partnership between local developer Jim Rendler and the Sinton family, bought the property from Landis’ business owner in October 2016, according to Rendler.

The mixed-use facility they plan on building will be reminiscent of “Spanish colonial revival architecture,” Rendler said.

“The aesthetic (of the building) is a contemporary Santa Barbara style that lends itself well to a balance of grander commercial proportion on the front facade on Marsh Street and the scaling down to row-house style residential walks ups along Carmel,” the project description plans reads.

The first floor of the new building will provide approximately 1,100 square feet of commercial business space facing Marsh Street, and two two-story condominiums will be available above that, according to the plans.

The sides of the U-shaped building will run parallel to Carmel Street and house six three-story townhouses in total, resulting in eight new living spaces and two storefronts. Each townhouse will have private garages in the interior court of the building.

“We really want to create something that was really kind of classic,” Rendler said. “Our intention was to do a really high-quality project that stands the test of time.”

The city’s Architectural Review Commission approved the project plans in September 2017, and the developers are currently in the process of obtaining demolition and building permits, according to Community Development Deputy Director Doug Davidson.

They are working with Ten Over Studio, a SLO-based architectural firm, to complete the project. Construction is slated to begin in 30 to 60 days, Rendler said.

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 11:24 AM.