6 major developments in the works around SLO County

Hotels, event centers, offices — and more places to shop and dine — are on the horizon for San Luis Obispo County residents in the coming years as a host of commercial, mixed-use projects begin to take shape.

Some projects, such as Copeland Properties’ highly anticipated Chinatown development in San Luis Obispo, are already underway. Other developments, such as the Pine Street Promenade in Paso Robles, could break ground this year.

Still others, such as a lodge and conference center along the oceanfront in Grover Beach, may have to wait until 2016 before construction starts.

Here’s a closer look at six of the major developments. All are expected to strengthen the local economy.

GROVER BEACH LODGE AND CONFERENCE CENTERGrover Beach pins hopes on hotel and conference centerBeachside project, envisioned for decades, could finally break ground in 2016 and bring millions in revenue to the area

Courtesy rendering

» Owner/operator: Pacifica Companies is developing and will operate the project under a lease agreement with the state and the city of Grover Beach.

» Contractor: Not yet hired

» Architect: Frank Ternasky, principal at San Diego-based Delawie

» Engineers: Civil, CTE Inc.; structural, GSSI Structural Engineers Inc.

» Project value/cost to build: $30 million, including public and private improvements

» Expected completion date: 18 months after construction starts

Grover Beach officials are hoping that the Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center, a key development at Highway 1 and West Grand Avenue, could serve as a catalyst for redevelopment in the city.

The lodge and conference center includes a 150-room hotel and an 11,000-square-foot conference center on about 13 acres of state-owned land. It also features about 10,000 square feet for recreational vehicles and equestrian users.

The development, a joint project among the city, State Parks and San Diego-based Pacifica Companies, could break ground in the first quarter of 2016, said Alison Rolfe, director of planning for Pacifica Companies, which still needs to submit building plans before construction starts.

Ideally, both the hotel and conference center would be built at the same time, Rolfe said.

The city has agreed to complete about $7 million in public improvements, including providing an equestrian staging area, a new putting green and street upgrades, as well as moving some utility lines underground.

The total project, envisioned since 1982, is estimated to cost more than $30 million.

An analysis of the project’s impact to the local economy estimates it will bring about $11 million annually to the area, including Grover Beach and the surrounding communities, said City Manager Bob Perrault.

This past summer, the project was appealed to the California Coastal Commission by an Arroyo Grande resident and Friends of Oceano Dunes. Both argued the project would limit beach access, among other concerns.

The Coastal Commission found the appeals did not raise any substantial issues that would justify holding a hearing on the project, allowing it to proceed.

— Cynthia Lambert

LA PLAZA CENTERA complement to Colony Square in AtascaderoDowntown project would feature a mix of retail and office space, plus pedestrian plazas and parking

Courtesy rendering

» Property owner: Hoff family, Templeton

» Contractor: Larry M. Wysong, Wysong Construction

» Architect: Thomas Jess, Arris Studio Architects, San Luis Obispo

» Engineers: Not available

» Project value/cost to build: Not available

» Expected completion date: Not available

The proposed La Plaza Center is a downtown mixed-use project, including 26,500 square feet of commercial retail and office space in three separate buildings and pedestrian plazas, 78 additional off-street parking spaces and site landscaping.

City officials have praised the project, saying that it would help existing businesses with foot traffic and generate new sales tax revenue for the city. They have also touted the project for complementing Colony Square, a nearby development that includes shops and a movie theater.

In a story published in The Tribune in 2013, developer Larry Wysong said he wanted to attract big-name tenants to the development.

“We want national people in here to get this project moving,” he said at the time.

Wysong did not return calls or respond to an email seeking comment about the development and its timeline for construction.

Warren Frace, the city’s outgoing community development director (he’s leaving to take a job in Paso Robles), met with Wysong about a month ago and said there were some unresolved issues with the property.

The property was jointly owned by Ben Hoff and his sister, Mary Beth Alvord of Templeton, Frace said. Hoff died about a year ago, and now the legal process of dividing the property between the families is underway.

Wysong has a conditional use permit allowing him to construct the buildings and reconfigure the site, Frace said.

“The approvals are in place. Now he has to submit plans to do all the work,” Frace said.

— Julie Lynem

PINE STREET PROMENADEPine Street Promenade hopes to build Paso Robles’ cultural sceneDevelopment featuring hotel, public market and performing arts center is slated for former Hayward Lumber yard downtown

» Owner: Developers Brett Van Steenwyk and Debbie Lorenz

» Contractor: To be determined

» Architect: Steven Puglisi Architecture

» Engineers: Mike Hodge, civil engineer

» Other: David Foote of Firma Consultants, landscaping and environmental consulting

» Project value/cost to build: Declined to disclose

» Expected completion date: Declined to disclose

A hotel and performing arts center development approved for Paso Robles is poised to further reshape a downtown that has seen many changes in recent years with the growth of the wine and dining scene.

Pine Street Promenade, a two-phase development, calls for a hotel and public market to be built first, followed by a performing arts center and the city’s first parking structure.

It’s slated to redevelop several blocks around Pine and Ninth streets, the former site of the Hayward Lumber yard. The buildings at the yard will need to be knocked down to make way for the new structures. Developers said groundbreaking for the first phase could begin this year.

Developers Brett Van Steenwyk and Debbie Lorenz bought the 2.4-acre lot for about $4.25 million in 2013.

Key to their 201,600-square-foot project — featuring a 107-room hotel with restaurant and office space, a central plaza and a basement parking structure with 230 spaces — is a 500-seat performing arts center.

In the hotel, the first floor will also feature a public market similar to the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, where local vendors could rent booths to sell their wares.

Local wine personality Casey Biggs is leading the creation of the 26,000-square-foot Paso Robles performing arts center, still in the conceptual phase. It’s being called The Paso Center and is backed by a new nonprofit organization.

Lorenz declined to disclose the value of the overall promenade project, but Biggs previously said that he expects just the performing arts center portion will cost between $30 million and $50 million to build.

City leaders approved development of the downtown center in August, and — at the time — construction was slated to start within a year.

In late December, Lorenz said, “We are working toward a startup date as well as a completion date but do not have that at this time.”

The Paso Center’s website, www.pasocenter.org, says the performing arts center is scheduled to break ground in 2016.

— Tonya Strickland

THE INN AT THE PIERHotel planned for heart of Pismo BeachKey 104-room downtown development is set for prominent location near the city’s pier

Courtesy rendering

» Owner: Postcard Properties LLC and Somera Capital Management closed on the purchase of the lot in December 2012. The owner is listed as SCM Pismo Pier Partners LLC on the county assessor’s website. The 1.2-acre property is assessed at more than $3.5 million.

» Contractor: Not available

» Architect: John Ashworth, principal at Bull Stockwell Allen

» Engineers: Not available

» Project value/cost to build: Not available

» Expected completion date: Not available

The Inn at the Pier in Pismo Beach will fill a long-vacant downtown lot and has the potential to bring more businesses and tourists to the city.

The project includes a 104-unit hotel at 601 Cypress St., a prominent location near the city’s pier. It will be built on a dirt lot that has occasionally been used for parking.

The 74,000-square-foot, three-story structure also will feature 1,795 square feet of commercial retail space, 2,150 square feet of meeting or dining-room space, a 775-square-foot business center, 132 parking spaces (including 127 underground spaces) and a rooftop pool.

Before it was approved by the Pismo Beach Planning Commission in July, the project underwent design revisions, including changing the architectural style to “coastal cottage” from a more modern, contemporary look.

The development was appealed to the City Council by two residents who wanted Pismo Beach’s top elected leaders to have a chance to weigh in on it as well. They raised some concerns about the project, including possible parking problems.

The plan for the underground parking garage calls for 127 spaces that would turn into valet parking once occupancy of the hotel reaches 60 percent. The garage plan includes a combination of single and tandem spaces, including some that are three spaces deep.

Developer Dana Severy, owner of Santa Barbara-based Postcard Properties LLC, told the City Council in September that the project was designed with feedback from the community, particularly downtown business owners and merchants.

“We see this as a catalyst and an opportunity to bring some added economic stability to adjacent landowners and business owners,” he said at the time.

Severy did not return calls for comment seeking an update on the project.

— Cynthia Lambert

CHINATOWNStretch of downtown SLO poised for revivalThe long-awaited project, which will offer more retail and rentals, will break ground in January

Courtesy rendering

» Owner: Copeland Properties

» Contractor: To be determined

» Architect: Mark Rawson, AIA, and associate architect Rea & Luker

» Engineers: soils, Earth Systems; civil, Above Grade Engineering; landscape, Firma; structural, Ashley Vance; mechanical and plumbing, BMA Brummel Myrick; electrical, PCE Power Communications Engineering; fire protection, Sims Fire

» Project value/cost to build: Declined to disclose

» Expected completion date: July 2016

Copeland Properties will break ground this month on the long-planned Chinatown project, which will bring additional retail, apartments and a hotel to downtown San Luis Obispo.

The project will revive a stretch of Monterey Street in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo near Mission Plaza that has been vacant for years.

Work will begin on the two-story retail segment of the development, which will include 37 residential units on the second floor of existing historic buildings, as well as 50,310 square feet of retail space and 2,780 square feet of office space.

Copeland Properties will lease the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, which are expected to be complete by June 2016.

Clothing retailer H&M said it will open its first San Luis Obispo County location in 2016 as part of the development. The 20,000-square-foot store will move into a redeveloped space in the 800 block of Monterey Street and serve as the largest of the retail stores in the shopping hub.

An adjacent 80-room hotel on Palm Street is scheduled to break ground six months later.

The hotel, to be operated by the Piazza Hospitality Group, will be connected to the apartments, retail and office spaces by a pedestrian plaza at the center of the project.

Copeland Properties has long pursued the Chinatown development, first approaching the city about a three-stage redevelopment of a significant part of downtown in 1999.

The Chinatown development was approved by the city in 2009 after years of impassioned debate over its design and height. However, the recession stalled full-fledged development until now.

— AnnMarie Cornejo

PG&E KENDALL ROAD CAMPUS New PG&E building taking shape near SLO airportUtility’s energy-efficient office complex will also support operations at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant

Photo courtesy of PG&E

» Owner: PG&E Co.

» Contractor: Anderson-Burton Construction

» Architect: RRM Design Group

» Cost to build: $7 million

» Expected completion date: April to June

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is opening a new multipurpose office complex near the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport with an eye toward energy efficiency.

The new 10,000-square-foot building at 1250 Kendall Road will provide office space for 30 workers. The office complex will also be used to support the operation of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, including training facilities, meeting rooms and a backup emergency response facility.

The employees in the new building are already working at the nuclear power plant, and the building will save them a long commute to and from the plant each day once it opens. The utility estimates that construction of the building involved more than 70,000 hours of labor, providing an economic boost for local companies and supporting jobs for local workers.

The office complex was built from the ground up to maximize energy efficiency. Its roof is designed to maximize cooling, and it uses high-performance LED lighting, efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

A 50-kilowatt photovoltaic system will be installed, which is expected to offset more than 30 percent of the building’s total energy costs.

Overall, the building is expected to use 60 percent less energy and about half as much water as other buildings of comparable size. Sustainable materials, such as recycled steel, were used in the framing and interior design.

As a result of these efforts, the U.S. Green Building Council’s California Central Coast Chapter recognized the building with a 2014 energy-efficiency award. The building also received an honorable mention in the Green New Construction category.

“The building design and practices employed in this project are the result of PG&E’s decision to go green and have this facility constructed from the onset with environmental sustainability in mind,” said Erik Justesen, president of RRM Design Group, the architect of the project.

— David Sneed

This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "6 major developments in the works around SLO County."