SLO’s Garden Street Inn could get makeover from Los Angeles luxury hotel company
A downtown San Luis Obispo hotel with ties to the city’s past could see a makeover within the next couple of years.
The 8,000-square-foot Garden Street Inn, last renovated in 1991, is in the early planning stages for a redesign.
Kirkwood Collection, a family-owned operator of luxury, boutique hotels based in Culver City, has a lease purchase option on the 13-room bed and breakfast.
A detailed proposal still is in the works with the intention to go through a city permitting approval process in 2020 and completion of the construction by summer 2021, according to Kirkwood Collection owner Alex Kirkwood.
The company is planning the renovation and purchase of Garden Street Inn simultaneously.
The proposed upgrade will include three new guest rooms, a boutique restaurant and a wine bar.
The Victorian-era building has ties to San Luis Obispo history.
Built in 1887, it was once the home of influential German-Jewish immigrant department store owners who also had a hand in land transactions, railway enterprises and wine making.
Redesign planned for SLO’s Garden Street Inn
The interior of the property will be redesigned with “a modern take on the classic Victorian aesthetic,” Kirkwood said.
Kirkwood added that rooms will be upgraded with Apple television and custom features.
“Every square inch of the interior will be tastefully modern,” Kirkwood said. “We are exploring adding a boutique restaurant and wine bar, but may be required to limit to paying guests only. This detail is pending discussions with the architectural team and city.”
Garden Street Inn, which features library and fireplace rooms, is located a block from Scout Coffee Co., Linnaea’s Coffee and Eureka restaurant and two blocks away from Higuera Street in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo.
The facade and exterior of the building will retain original design elements from 1887, Kirkwood said.
“We are exploring listing Garden Street Inn on the National Historic Register to protect the original design elements from 1887 on the exterior,” he said.
Immigrant family had strong ties to city history
The building was originally the home of Morris and Helena Goldtree.
Morris Goldtree’s brother, Nathan, arrived in San Franciso in 1856 and within the year moved to San Luis Obispo, establishing a San Luis Obispo store.
“In 1865, (Nathan’s) brothers, Isaac, Marcus, and Morris joined him in the business, which they called Goldtree Bros.,” the Jewish Museum of the American West stated on its website. “They moved from their original modest store to a brick block, which they built themselves on the most prominent corner in San Luis Obispo.”
The business advertised itself as the “The Oldest Business House in San Luis Obispo.”
Goldtree Bros. sold dry goods, clothing, furniture, groceries, medicines and more — offering the “cheapest of the cheapest” and “country produce taken in exchange for goods purchased,” according to an advertisement in the 1868 edition of the first newspaper in San Luis Obispo, the San Luis Obispo Pioneer.
Morris Goldtree’s former home was converted to a 13-room bed and breakfast in 1989 after passing throuugh several different owners over the years.
Culver City hotel owner has multiple California boutiques
Kirkwood Collection completed work on Hideaway Santa Barbara earlier this year. The company also holds properties in Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs, with a sole focus on boutique venues.
“San Luis Obispo is one of the fastest growing destinations in California and offers an amazing wine and farm-to-table culture,” Kirkwood said. “With an incredible array of activities and attractions on our doorstep, and Cal Poly nearby, we believe San Luis Obispo to be a marquee market for our collection.”
Renderings of the proposed new redesign of Garden Street Inn aren’t yet publicly available, but could be within the next couple of months, Kirkwood said.
The redesign would be part of a wave of new hotel additions to San Luis Obispo, with the introduction of three new hotels to the city.
La Quinta Inn & Suites Hotel San Luis Obispo by Wyndam opened in May on Monterey Street, and Hotel San Luis Obispo opened on Palm Street in October.
Hotel Cerro, located on Garden Street across from Scout Coffee Co., is scheduled to open in January.
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