Frequently Asked Questions
What is Garden Street Terraces?
Garden Street Terraces is a proposed project in Downtown San Luis Obispo that would maintain the city's downtown appeal, economic health and civic community standing. The five-story project will be located between Marsh, Broad and Garden streets, and include:
- 95-room boutique hotel with restaurant, café, bar and lounge
- 21,000-square-foot commercial retail space
- 14,000-square-foot neighborhood market
- 34 residential units
- 62 public parking spaces on site
- 85 residential and valet parking spaces on site
- All historic buildings retained on site
What is happening with the existing historical buildings on Garden Street, and what is the status of the retrofitting process?
The project will retain the Downtown Brewing Company building and all of the other historic structures on site. Regarding retrofitting, all buildings will be built, rebuilt or otherwise brought into current seismic code compliance during construction of the overall project.
Should Garden Street be "closed" or "open" to vehicle traffic?
By majority public opinion at our ongoing outreach meetings, it was felt that Garden Street should remain open to vehicular traffic, but should definitely become more pedestrian friendly. In conformance with the City's approved plan, we are proposing that Garden Street become a one-way, one-lane street, as proposed by the city-approved Garden Street Enhancement Plan.
Regarding Garden Street, can you incorporate wider sidewalks, as was proposed in the City's Garden Street Enhancement Plan?
The current project incorporates wider sidewalks on both sides of Garden Street, to encourage pedestrian traffic over vehicular traffic. And it creates a mid-block connection between Higuera and Marsh streets. It was also suggested that we incorporate other features and elements of the "Garden Street Improvement Plan" into our design mix, as many of the concepts in that plan would still be valid with this project.
How will construction impacts be minimized?
We have retained a local general contractor to plan and oversee construction phasing in order to minimize street closures and disruption to existing business activity. We will also work with the general contractor to coordinate construction worker parking, material deliveries and staging, etc. so as to further reduce construction impacts downtown. Web site updates will keep the public informed about construction details.
How will the Garden Street project affect parking?
All parking will be provided on site. Parking Lot 2 will be reconfigured with the same number of public parking spaces – 62 – in Basement 1 of the project. Private and valet parking will be accommodated by 85 spaces in Basement 2. The project will provide the same number of spaces on Garden Street as recommended by the Garden Street Enhancement Plan, as well as add space for motorcycle and bicycle parking. The number of on-street parking spaces on Broad Street will also be increased.
Should Bubble Gum Alley remain or be eliminated or...
Through our community meetings, we acknowledged that Bubble Gum Alley was not a part of this project. We also noted that the group is split on this issue. Most businesses on Garden Street were OK with keeping BGA as is, while some tenants directly adjacent to the alley stated that it was an ongoing public nuisance. Although, as we mentioned, BGA is not a part of our scope, we forwarded these comments to the city.