Is a Pismo Beach parking structure on the way? City buys $1.45 million property downtown
Pismo Beach is taking quiet steps to fulfill one of its longstanding goals and build a parking structure downtown.
The city has long mulled the need for a parking structure to serve the downtown area.
With the construction of two major hotels in the area — one of which was built on a dirt lot previously used for overfill parking — and other development in the area, the downtown seems to have outgrown its current parking inventory.
“I think it’s important that we have an efficient parking system,” Pismo Beach management services director Jorge Garcia told The Tribune on Thursday. “Parking is hard to find; that’s something that we’ve continuously heard.”
Enter 330 Main St.
Nestled between residential homes and two city-owned parking lots, the Main Street property houses Coastal Vacation Rentals. When it went on the market recently, the city saw an opportunity.
“This piece of property went for sale and we purchased it because we saw the potential to build a parking structure,” Garcia said.
The city paid $1.45 million for that potential, Garcia confirmed, noting that the city is also looking to acquire the two other properties adjacent to the 330 Main St. lot. Garcia said the city is “in talks” with those property owners, but has not entered into any firm negotiations.
If it’s successful, paired with the city-owned lot at the intersection of Dolliver and Main streets and another backing the property and facing Pomeroy Avenue, the city could potentially build an L-shaped parking structure that could serve both pier-area downtown and the “restaurant row” along Price Street.
This would be Pismo Beach’s first city-owned parking structure. Both the Inn at the Pier and Vespera on Ocean feature underground structures for hotel guests.
Garcia was careful to caution that any parking structure plans are still very early in the pipeline.
“It’s still very preliminary,” he said, noting there is no specific timeline for when a structure proposal could go before the city. “Our main goal is to look at a parking structure, but it’s got to be right. It’s got to be put in where it not only adds the parking we need, but keeps true to the surrounding community.”
“It’s something we want to work with the city, work with the residents to realize,” he added.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 6:29 PM.
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