Public market envisioned at historic Long-Bonetti Ranch in San Luis Obispo

Correction: An earlier version of this story inaccurately described Jim Dummit’s credentials. He is a designer.

A public market filled with local fare, a brewery, and a wine and cheese shop are among the plans for the historic Long-Bonetti Ranch, on the northeast corner of South Higuera Street and Tank Farm Road in San Luis Obispo.

Other amenities of the recently revealed plans for the San Luis Obispo Public Market project will include a restaurant, retail stores and a produce stand — all focused on a farm-to-table theme.

John Belsher and Ryan Petetit of PB Companies, a San Luis Obispo real estate development and investment firm, are developing the $16.5 million project under the Tank Farm Center LLC.

A conceptual design was recently submitted to the city and will go before the Architectural Review Commission in October. The project will also be reviewed by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

A preliminary commitment has been made with Figueroa Mountain Brewery, which has taprooms in Santa Barbara, Buellton and Los Olivos.

The site will also be home to a Tractor Supply Company store selling home, farm and agricultural maintenance goods. That portion of the project has already been approved by the city and will be in the first phase of development, expected to be complete by spring 2015.

The developer plans to begin construction on the rest of the project as soon as it is approved by the city — which could be sometime in 2015.

Belsher, a San Luis Obispo native, said the project is modeled after other successful marketplaces including the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara and Oxbow Public Market in Napa.

The idea was conceived by Mark Woolpert, a principal at Compass Health, and designed by Jim Dummit, Petetit said. Woolpert and Darren Smith, also a principal of Compass Health, are leasing all but the Tractor Supply Company and will operate the San Luis Obispo marketplace.

The goal, Belsher said, is to re-create the downtown that we grew up with.

"The population here craves a local flavor and our downtown has been losing that to chain stores and bars," he said. "The project is inspired by locals and designed for locals."

The Long-Bonetti Ranch has a history dating to the early 1900s.

The ranch house, barn and other structures on the property are all on the city’s master list of historic places. The developer is proposing to rebuild the majority of those because they are damaged beyond repair.

Three architectural firms — Isaman Design, Arris Studio Architects and RRM Design Group — are working on the project.

The contemporary agrarian-styled buildings will be built using materials such as corrugated metal, reclaimed barn wood and other materials reminiscent of the property’s past.

A pedestrian plaza, accessed from South Higuera Street, will lead to an open-air plaza with the rest of the site’s amenities.

The 12,002-square-foot public market is intended to be a hub for residents and tourists and is envisioned to have an array of local offerings: sandwiches, coffee, ice cream, a restaurant, a juice bar, a butcher, a baker and a taqueria.

The 5,549-square-foot brewery will also include dining and outdoor seating. A building nearby will provide retail space and four two-bedroom living spaces.

The ranch house, which dates to 1908, will be converted into a 1,528-square-foot restaurant with a large outdoor dining area. It is the only historic building on the site that will not be demolished and rebuilt.

The developer is proposing to knock down and rebuild the century-old barn to make space for nearly a dozen wine vendors.

The granary, adjacent to the pedestrian plaza, will also be rebuilt and converted into a produce barn and the original water tower will be demolished and reconstructed to be used as a concession stand and outdoor bar, adjacent to a wine and cheese shop.

"Our hope is to re-create a local downtown in a convenient shopping center," Belsher said. "We want it to feel like a part of the community, not a shopping center."

This story was originally published September 6, 2014 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Public market envisioned at historic Long-Bonetti Ranch in San Luis Obispo."