How much has SLO County changed in 10 years? See before-and-after photos of 8 new buildings
Editor’s note: This is the first in an ongoing photo series on how local communities have changed over the years. Interested? Send in your photos of local cities, neighborhoods and buildings from years past, and our photographers will capture how they look now. Photos and descriptions of the places depicted should be sent to Tribune reporter Kaytlyn Leslie at kleslie@thetribunenews.com.
Progress marches on — even in San Luis Obispo County.
Over the years, San Luis Obispo County has undergone some monumental changes with a host of new hotel, housing and other major construction projects changing the faces of local towns.
But even as new projects are approved and built, it can be easy to forget what the last round of big changes looked like before them. So we here at The Tribune have compiled a handful of before and after images to remind you what those buildings looked like just a few short years ago.
Sears makes way for 2 new stores in SLO
Back in 2017, Sears announced it would close its San Luis Obispo location after nearly 90 years in business.
The longstanding business was set to close as part of the company’s aggressive plan to close unprofitable stores and stave off bankruptcy — a plan that was ultimately unsuccessful.
The 75,000-square-foot building in the Madonna Plaza shopping center closed in late July 2017. It was demolished and a Ross Dress for Less and Michaels craft store opened in the new 56,000-square-foot building at the location in August 2019.
SLO County airport terminal takes flight
For years, officials said the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport needed a new terminal, not only to help spur tourism in the region, but also because the existing terminal was a safety threat due to its proximity to the runway.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors finally approved plans for a new terminal in 2015 at a pricetag of $35.4 million. It was expected to be completed in early 2017.
The 56,000-square-foot terminal welcomed its first passengers — a flight from Denver — in November 2017. The final cost of the project? $39.5 million.
The larger terminal added a variety of new amenities for travelers, including a larger checkpoint area and a food and beverage concession stand after the security checkpoint.
Springhill Suites moves into Atascadero
Construction on a 130-room, four-story Marriot SpringHill Suites hotel began in Atascadero in early 2013.
The project was delayed partway through because of a design change — according to a previous Tribune report, construction on the building hit a snag in summer 2014 when crews tried to move heating and air conditioning equipment in, only to realize the ceilings weren’t tall enough to allow the equipment to come in. Design changes had to be made to accommodate the equipment.
The hotel opened in June 2015, and cost between $25 million and $35 million, according to a July 2015 article.
The hotel also features an on-site restaurant, indoor meeting space and outdoor event space.
Big building for Cal Poly’s Baker Center
Current Cal Poly science students probably don’t know how lucky they are.
A decade ago, the massive 189,000-square-foot Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics in the center of campus was but a distant dream. In its current space sat the outdated Building 52 — affectionately called the “spider building” because of its spindly offshoots.
The building was torn down in late 2010 and construction began on what would eventually become the Baker Center.
When it was completed in 2013, the building was one of the university’s most expensive projects to date, costing about $119 million. The new center featured major-specific meeting rooms, study bars, a “green roof” with vegetation to help with water runoff and cooling the building and state-of-the-art classrooms and workspaces.
Big changes in SLO’s Chinatown
The Chinatown area of downtown San Luis Obispo is possible one of the biggest overhauls in recent years.
What was predominately parking lots and older buildings have been almost entirely torn down as part of the Copeland Chinatown project, and replaced with newer buildings that house retail stores like H&M and Williams Sonoma and a large boutique hotel, Hotel San Luis Obispo.
The project began in earnest in 2012 and has slowly been built out over recent years. The retail elements were some of the first completed in 2016, followed in 2019 by the opening of Hotel San Luis Obispo.
Firestone Walker gets new facade in Paso Robles
In 2017, Firestone Walker Brewing Co. completed a two-year, $15 million expansion of its Paso Robles brewhouse and visitor center.
The expansion added upon the previous brewhouse building, bringing in new brewing vessels like the 200-barrel tank dedicated entirely to the brand’s iconic 805 blonde ale. The visitors center was also expected to serve as a starting place for education tasting and public tours, according to previous Tribune reports.
Downtown spot goes from parking to Hotel Cerro
Hotel San Luis Obispo isn’t the only new hotel to be added to San Luis Obispo’s downtown corridor in recent years.
Hotel Cerro, which opened Jan. 31, has been in the works since 2015.
Before it was a 65-room luxury hotel, the space on Garden Street was a parking lot.
The new hotel features a rooftop pool deck with an edible garden, a 4,000 square foot spa, the Brasserie SLO restaurant, the Sweet Life of Pie shop and space for meetings and private parties.
Inn at the Pier comes to Pismo Beach
Why not cap of this list with another big hotel project?
Construction work on the Inn at the Pier began in 2016, though the project itself had been in the works for several years prior. It was contested when it went before the Pismo Beach City Council in 2014 — largely due to parking concerns — but won the unanimous approval of the board.
The hotel, located at 601 Cypress St., was completed in late 2017, and features 104 rooms, 4,8000 square feet of event space and a rooftop bar, heated pool and sundeck. The rooms all also include Amazon’s Echo Dot.
