Big changes are underway for downtown San Luis Obispo as city leaders broke ground Tuesday on a new parking structure.
The empty lot can be found at the intersection of Monterey, Nipomo and Palm Streets.
An official groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday for the Cultural Arts District parking structure.
This will be the fourth parking structure in downtown, and the plan has been in the works since 2003, as part of the city’s downtown concept plan.
City leaders say a study done in 2022 showed that a new structure is needed to meet both the current and projected parking demand.
"This is huge, this is a project that has been over twenty years in the making, and its really exciting to see a space where people can come to the west end of downtown and be able to park and shop and eat and watch a theatre performance on the top of the structure," said San Luis Obispo Mayor, Eric A. Stewart.
Once complete, the structure will stand at five stories, with one below ground level. The community will be provided with 397 new parking spaces. Forty-one of those will be electric vehicle charging stations. And for those not driving downtown, there will also be 32 bike racks for bike parking.
"Fantastic, I love the idea that the city's working to improve parking for downtown. It's incredibly important. There are a lot of people, including myself, who take exception to the exorbitantly high downtown parking prices. The fact that it was doubled recently. Although I do love the fact that the city is paying attention to what the citizens are talking about,” said Grover Beach resident, Namu Williams.
City leaders say the broader goal for the area is to create a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly cultural arts district. This will include the new SLO Rep Theater planned to be adjacent of the structure in the coming years. Along with the History Museum, SLO Museum of Art and SLO Children’s Museum also nearby.
City leaders say they expect the parking structure to be complete by the end of 2025.
You can learn more about the Downtown Concept Plan by clicking here.
