4-story SLO housing, restaurant and retail project would replace Network Mall downtown
Plans for a four-story, mixed-use project in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo envision removing the Network Mall and opening up a walkway to Mission Plaza from Higuera Street.
The proposed project, which covers buildings along the stretch of 778-782 Higuera St., would replace those existing commercial spaces with two new buildings to create space for restaurants, retail, housing and an open-air public walkway, or, paseo, with views of the plaza surrounding Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa — reshaping the look and feel of a key downtown block.
“We are excited to bring this project to the city for their review as we believe it brings lower-cost housing downtown which reduces traffic and pollution and greenhouse gasses,” said the project owner’s representative, Travis Fuentez of Vartis Holdings. “It’s a project that revitalizes a tired commercial project at a time when retail nationwide is struggling.”
The application, filed with the city by Pacific Coastal Properties LLC of Firebaugh, shows renderings of two new multi-use buildings that would stand 58 feet tall at their highest points, according to renderings. Designs feature brick, stucco and concrete.
The project proposal calls for adding 36 new housing units on the three floors above restaurant and retail space on the ground floor.
The paseo, which ranges from 14 to 30 feet in width and narrows in the middle, would offer direct pedestrian public access to the creekside patio area, according to application drawings.
“The project opens up visual walkable connectivity to the jewel of downtown, the Mission, which has been a long desired improvement,” Fuentez said.
Commercial properties purchased by Central Valley family
Five separate commercial buildings with deep historic roots in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo were sold by the Leslie Naman Trust in 2018 to the Davis family, which has a long history of farming in California’s Central Valley.
The Davis family acquired commercial spaces including the Network Mall shopping center and other adjoining commercial buildings, such as the current Avanti space located at the corner of Higuera and Chorro streets.
The adjacent historic Johnson and Warren buildings aren’t part of the currently proposed project, which would include the parcels between them, Fuentez said.
In all, the project would total 37,500 square feet of building space — including a basement and upper roof decks — on the 700 block of Higuera Street.
How the project would handle residents’ parking
The ground floor would offer about 3,200 square feet of restaurant space and more than 7,300 square feet of retail space.
On the upper floors, the application calls for 24 studio apartments, 10 one-bedroom residences, and two two-bedroom units — ranging in size from about 400 square feet to 1,000 square feet.
Of those units, two would be considered affordable housing under the city’s inclusionary housing policies, which restrict pricing based on resident income levels.
City officials and the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission will review those inclusionary housing requirements, which factor in density, for consistency with city planning regulations moving forward.
The residential units will be processed as condominiums, but the intent is to keep them all as rental units, Fuentez said.
Under the current proposal, there would be no onsite parking. Instead, the project aims to “participate in the existing downtown offsite residential parking program,” in addition to offering residential bike storage rooms, the application said.
San Luis Obispo community development director Michael Codron said the city’s parking requirements for downtown developments call for half of the parking for the same type of development that’s normally required in other parts of the city.
“We discourage on-site parking because our downtown core isn’t designed to allow for more cars crossing the sidewalk to access parking,” Codron said. Rather, he said, the city’s design objectives “prioritize the continuity of the sidewalk to improve the pedestrian experience, including pedestrian safety.”
“As a result, the project will be subject to an in-lieu fee requirement to support the creation of new parking in structures and other parts of downtown,” Codron said. “Once the project is constructed and operational, long-term parking may be provided off-site on private property, potentially in a parking structure as part of our pilot residential parking program, or as may be allowed on surrounding streets.”
The city is reviewing the application for completeness. After that, processing will begin and public hearings will be held, Codron said.
“We anticipate this process could take another 12 to 18 months,” Fuentez said.
SLO businesses have Network Mall lease agreements
Network Mall commercial spaces currently house businesses including Bliss Cafe and Cowboy Cookie & Ice Cream.
The owners’ hope is that “every existing tenant will stay until we know we have an approved project and it is feasible to build,” Fuentez said.
Discussions are taking place between the property owner and commercial tenants about that timing.
“We are likely looking at 18 months before any potential project approvals, so any transition planning would likely occur over that time frame,” Fuentez said.
The property is included in the city’s Inventory of Historic Resources as part of the Downtown Historic District.
“We are currently evaluating the project proposal and disposition of those buildings to determine the scope of environmental review for the project” impacts to historic resources must be evaluated under the California Environmental Quality Act, Codron said. “The city also has a historic preservation ordinance that provides standards for the treatment of historical resources.”
Cowboy Cookie and Bliss Cafe owners say their current lease agreements end in 2022.
Cowboy Cookie owner Scott Millhollon said the business’ three-year lease at its Higuera Street space ends next summer. The company, which has locations in Pismo Beach and Santa Maria, will likely explore new options for San Luis Obispo location options after that.
“We’d heard about the development application and figured once our lease is up, we’d be moving elsewhere,” Millhollon said. “Once the property was purchased, we kind of figured something like this was coming.”
Cowbow Cookie has been in the Network Mall location for 12 years and in business in San Luis Obispo for 43 years, Millhollon said. It was formerly located on Chorro Street.
Bliss Cafe co-owner and co-founder David Fintel said the plant-based restaurant has been located in the Network Mall since 2013.
Bliss Cafe, located in the back of the shopping center by San Luis Obispo Creek, finishes its lease at the end of the calendar year 2022.
“We’ve had some discussion with the ownership about options to extend if they’re not ready to build yet, but it’s up in the air,” said Fintel, adding that Bliss Cafe is part of an ownership group with a board of directors. “We are planning to expand and franchise, so we’re not sure if we’d stay here for another term or find a new location.”
A third Network Mall business, a clothing store, is temporarily closed, and two other commercial spaces remain vacant.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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