New SLO County project to feature 59 condos, retail space. Take a look at the plans
Grover Beach could get a new source of residential and retail space in coming years.
The Grover Beach Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve a 59-unit mixed-use project at its meeting on Tuesday, sending the project to the Grover Beach City Council for final approval.
The development, which was designed by RRM Design Group and civil engineering work from Garing, Taylor & Associates, Inc., will be located on a vacant lot on the northeast corner of north Fourth Street and West Grand Avenue.
Construction work by Coastal Community Builders may begin in early 2024, Coastal Community Builders marketing director Gina Perrault wrote in an email to The Tribune.
According to Planning Commission chair David Halverson, the project falls in line with the city’s fractional density design guidelines, which incentivize the development of smaller, market-rate units.
“It’s a great project,” Halverson said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It is totally in line with what we want for Grover Beach, especially that intersection.”
Grover Beach development to include condos, retail
According to community development director Megan Martin, the proposed development sits on a 1.38-acre lot that has been “underdeveloped” in recent years.
The project consists of two four-story buildings totaling 85,760 square feet, with 6,900 square feet of the ground level reserved for commercial space, Martin said during the meeting.
That commercial space includes space for retail or restaurant use, with outdoor dining along West Grand Avenue along West Grand Avenue, north Fourth Street and north Fifth Street, Martin said.
The buildings will house a total of 59 condominiums ranging from 595-square-foot studios to three-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot units, Martin said.
Construction company: Housing is affordable by design
Perrault said the condos were created to be affordable by design.
While they are not deed-restricted as affordable units with a percentage-based rent cap, the starting prices of the units should be more affordable to buyers, she said.
“Affordable by design is more of a concept than a standard,” Perrault wrote in an email. “In essence, it means that if you can design a product that is affordable to build, it can in turn be sold at a more affordable price.”
Of the project’s 59 units, 40 met the city’s fractional density guidelines, Martin said.
Under Grover Beach’s Standards for all Development and Land Uses guidelines, a unit under 600 square feet counts as half of a unit, while a unit between 601 and 1,000 square feet counts as two-thirds of a unit and a unit of 1,000 square feet or more counts as one unit. That allows mixed-use developments to exceed the zoning limits of a plot.
The project’s units are not permitted to operate as short-term rentals, Martin said.
There will be 80 units of onsite parking, with an additional 22 parking spaces offsite credited toward the project, Martin said.
Amenities include rooftop space, an outdoor dining space, a pet relief area and landscaping improvements, she said.
In total, around 6,000 square feet of the property will see landscaping improvements such as the addition of trees and denser foliage along the northern boundary to “screen the project site from the adjacent residential uses,” Martin said.
Scott Martin, architecture principal at project designer RRM Design Group, said the middle and rear parking areas may be covered by a carport canopy that can be equipped with solar panels.
He said the project’s design was inspired by the “eclectic mix” of architecture throughout Grover Beach, pulling from beach themes.
“This is not a single-family house that we’re trying to sell to a certain demographic. This is a different style of living,” he said. “We are looking for something that’s rooted in place and true of location, but it is a modern interpretation of that.”
When could construction start?
Construction could start in the first quarter of 2024, though that date is subject to the city’s processing times, Perrault said.
Because the project is not complete, the total cost is not available at this point, Perrault said.
Each unit’s price will be dictated by a combination of market forces at the time units become available and the project’s full cost, and will not be made public until units are ready for sale, Perrault said.
The project will next go before the Grover Beach City Council for final approval.
This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
