Tenant improvements for the new San Luis Obispo Chamber Of Commerce office at 895 Monterey St Downtown are underway this month.
Early next year, the Chamber will move from its current location at the corner of Chorro and Higuera street. Permits for $157,000 in tenant improvements were issued this month to be carried out by contractor Maino Construction. It is the first move by the group in over 4 decades.
The Chamber’s newsletter says the move to to 895 Monterey St., on the corner of Monterey and Morro streets, will be in the historic Paiarola building, which formerly housed Ann’s Clothing store and Luna Rustica.
The newsletter says the following about the plans.
Triggered by a seismic retrofit scheduled for the Chorro Street location in 2013, the Chamber Board of Directors initiated a process last year to analyze the needs and priorities of the Chamber’s administrative offices and Visitors Center.
“The seismic retrofit prompted us to look at how we could improve visibility for the Visitors Center to benefit the tourism industry and at the same time see whether we could improve the accessibility and efficiency of our administrative offices,” said Russ Levanway, Chamber Board Chair and CEO of TekTegrity. “We are confident that we have found a new location that meets all of the goals set by the Board and will provide the Chamber with all the best of our existing space with some much-needed improvements.”
Levanway said the new space, which will be fully accessible, will provide for greater visibility of the Visitors Center to benefit members and tourists, as well as provide a larger meeting room for Chamber members. “The location in the downtown core maintains the Chamber presence close to the Mission and city and county government offices,’’ Levanway said.
Commissioned in 1932 by Caterina Paiarola, the grandmother of current owner Howard Carroll, the building was built by Maino Construction. It is one of the first reinforced concrete structures in downtown and was built in a Mediterranean-style with expansive arches that border the streets.
“The new location in the Paiarola building represents the Chamber’s ongoing support for the revitalization of our downtown and a commitment to the future vitality of the city’s core,” said Chamber Board member and facilities task force member Pierre Rademaker of Pierre Rademaker Design.
The Chamber Board voted unanimously to make a permanent move following an analysis by a special facilities task force, which looked at several options, including keeping the Visitors Center at its current space and moving the administrative offices out of the downtown core.
“We found a space that seemed to be the perfect fit,” said Clint Pearce, president of Madonna Enterprises and facilities task force member. “The space is the right size and has the features that will help the Chamber fulfill its mission and strategic initiatives. The task force and board were unanimous that the Monterey Street space will be the best long-term home for the Chamber, and we can hardly wait to see it finished.”
“Our current location and landlord have served us well for over four decades,” said Chamber President and CEO Ermina Karim. “Now, given the availability of 895 Monterey, we have the opportunity to serve visitors better, as well as to provide more services to our members. We look forward to creating new memories, build on our brand and, most importantly, enhance service for our members and visitors.”