New Proposals For SLO Development

The developer of Garden Street Terraces has revised its plan again — this time by scaling back the height of the buildings, reducing one floor and relocating some parts underground

Editorial Opinion - The Tribune

Yet another large downtown San Luis Obispo redevelopment project is shrinking in size and bulk, as the developer of Garden Street Terraces proposes removing most of one floor from the project and moving some other parts underground.

Garden Street Terraces is proposed for the stretch of Marsh Street from Broad to Garden streets and is being developed by WestPac Investments.

The project includes a hotel, residences and retail. A new addition to the project is a 14,300-square-foot neighborhood market that would face Broad Street at ground level.

The project that was planned to include residences up to 69 feet high and contain a sixth floor now will have residences maxed out on the fifth floor at 58.5 feet high.

Only the hotel pool deck at 62 feet is set to be higher, project architect George Garcia said, with an exception to 74 feet for two elevator shafts and one stairwell.

Residents' and consultants' concerns about height and historical issues in the environmental review process influenced the changes, according to Carol Florence, a principal planner for Oasis Associates, which is guiding the project through the city process.

Another factor that affected the size of the project was that the developer could not reach an agreement to purchase the property at 742 Marsh St., also known as the Verizon building. The project will now be constructed around that building.

"The fact that we have had to change it has caused a better project," Garcia said.

The new plan calls for retaining historic buildings, including four small wooden buildings that now house businesses such as California Blonde and Hopskotch Kids, along Garden Street.

"The facades along Garden Street will be the same views that you have today," Garcia said of what it will look like from a pedestrian's viewpoint.

The hotel building would be tall but stepped back in such a way that it will not have that much of an effect on Garden Street, he said.

A draft environmental impact report has been completed on Garden Street Terraces. City Planner Tyler Corey said the city is evaluating the new application, and it will have to be thoroughly addressed in the final environmental report.

It could be months before a final report is approved, and the new design will have to be go through the city review process. Corey would not estimate when it might be approved.

Another major project proposed for downtown San Luis Obispo also was reduced in size during the environmental review process.

The Chinatown Project proposed for much of the block between Palm, Morro, Monterey and Chorro streets near Mission San Luis Obispo was proposed at heights of up to 75 feet tall, but dropped to 50 feet in September. It was redesigned again recently.

Because of its redesigns, Chinatown also will go back through the city review process with no estimate on when it might receive final approval.

Details of the changes

Under the new proposal, Garden Street Terraces has increased in total square footage. The amount of development visible above ground will be less than what had been proposed. But another level has been added underground — adding to the total square footage.

The old proposal called for 188,723 square feet, including parking. The new total is 219,799.

Under the new proposal, other changes in Garden Street Terraces include:

• Instead of moving four small wooden buildings that were moved to Garden Street in the early 20th century off-site to Old Edna, the buildings will be reconditioned and reused. Their restoration may involve moving them off-site before they put permanently on-site, Garcia said.
• The downtown market is a new addition to the project and will face Broad Street, where metered spaces in the city-owned parking lot are located.
• Two levels of underground parking are now proposed instead of one. One would feature metered public parking and a "travelator" for grocery carts down to public parking; the other would be for the hotel and residences. The project calls for replacing all 62 public metered parking spaces that would be lost at ground level.
• The number of residences — two-bedroom units with an average size of 1,200 square feet — was reduced from 53 to 34 in the current plan.
• The number of hotel rooms increased to 95 from 70, in part because the hotel conference room and some other hotel-related amenities moved to the basement.

One problem the developer is expecting to deal with: Marsh Street acquired its name for a reason, and other developers have encountered a high groundwater table.

Florence said there will be a permanent plan for removing the water from the parking garage area, involving pumps such as those used at the theaters at the Downtown Centre.

City Administrative Officer Ken Hampian said only city staff has seen the new incarnation of the project.

"The staff take was very positive," he said. "(WestPac) brought on a historic consultant who has been advising them. They were quite sensitive to the historic preservation concerns that were expressed."