Central Coast is getting a big, new DMV office. Here’s what’s planned
Heavy equipment and a construction trailer have moved onto the site of the long-awaited new home for the Department of Motor Vehicles in Santa Maria, signaling the start of work on the new office.
The DMV’s new field office, anticipated for more than a decade, will replace one deemed too small and otherwise insufficient at 523 S. McClelland St, serving drivers from northern Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo counties.
The replacement office will be built on vacant land at 2770 Santa Maria Way on the northeast corner of Santa Maria Way and Sunrise Drive.
With piles of dirt delivered weeks ago, heavy equipment operators have started grading work to prepare the site for the brand-new building.
“This will finally replace the outdated, small office on South McClelland Street. The city and other agencies and businesses have championed a replacement facility for nearly 20 years,” Mayor Alice Patino said. “No renovations or expansions have taken place since the old office was built in 1969, and since then Santa Maria’s population has tripled from about 33,000 people. There often are long lines of customers.”
Earlier this year, the state Department of General Services solicited bidders for the project, awarding it to Pac-West General Inc. of San Luis Obispo for $16.3 million, according to DMV public affairs staff.
Pac-West was among three bidders for the project, according to the DMV.
The firm, operating since 2008, is a small business owned by a service-disabled veteran, with Newton Construction of San Luis Obispo as its sponsor company.
A number of companies from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties along with several from beyond the Central Coast will work on the project as subcontractors, according to a list on the California Department of Industrial Relations website.
Construction is expected to be completed in November 2024, DMV officials said this week.
The current facility, a brick box structure built in 1969, encompasses 3,865 square feet and has 64 parking spaces and is no longer a viable option for a DMV office, according to state budget documents.
The replacement field office at 13,000 square feet will sit on 3 acres that also will include adequate parking for staff and customers, an attached drive test canopy and a motorcycle testing area.
Since the South McClelland Street office was built, Santa Maria’s population has grown from 32,749 in 1970 to 106,208 in 2017, a 224% population increase, the DMV noted. The price tag for building the new field office once was estimated at $12 million.
Santa Maria city leaders have lobbied for a new DMV field office for years, noting the need to replace the existing facility that sometimes has customer lines stretching around two sides of the building.
Santa Maria’s mayor said residents frequently ask, “When are we getting a new DMV?”
“Our 110,000-plus residents and many businesses — including agriculture and construction industries — will welcome the modern and much larger Santa Maria DMV facility,” she added.
The State of California confirmed in early 2019 that it had purchased land in Santa Maria to become the much-needed new home for the Department of Motor Vehicles field office.
Escrow closed in November 2018 on the $1.45 million sale.
At the time, officials said they hoped the new facility would open in 2021 at the earliest, but the project has seen a number of delays because of the state’s budget woes, COVID-19 and other factors.
