Category: Central Coast

Sales Up 3.5% In SLO City

The City of San Luis Obispo has released their latest sale tax report for the 4th quarter of 2012.The report says sales tax revenues were up 3.5% compared to the same quarter the year before. Sales in the Los Osos Valley corridor we the highest in the city – up 15.7% compared to a 22.9% decline along Maddona Rd. Downtown sales tax moneys increased 1.5%. Restaurant and auto sales were top gainers,

The report says sales for all SLO County were up an even stronger  34.4%.

Marsh Street Commons, a mixed use project offering Downtown residential units and Marsh St retail and office space is well under construction.Principal Craig Mangano who is building the complex with brother Andy says 11 of the 12 residential units are spoken for and some  will  be moving in in August. The units are in the $600k to $700k range.No news on the 5 street-level retail spaces but Mangano  says they are in negotiation including some restaurant tenants.

The Mangano brothers are also building the 175 single family Serra Meadows on Prado east of Higuera. Model homes are nearing completion. A long list of interested buyers demonstrates pent up demand in SLO. In the city limits SLO has seen around 15 units a year for new non-subsidized single-family homes in a city with a reputation as one of the best retirement locations in the US.

Craig Mangano says says so far buyers at Marsh St Commons  are about half out of of town’ers with many paying all cash.

PG&E To Build New Office Building in SLO

SLO’s largest employer,utility giant PG&E,plans to build a new 10,600 sf office  building near the San Luis Obispo airport. PG&E spokesperson Blair Jones says the single story building “will support the Diablo Canyon power plant” noting there is little room at the plant site itself for such a complex.

“We need more workspace” says Jones adding that the office will also be a emergency response center for the utility.
A county staff report says the office will house some 26 workers. The company already employs more than 1500 in the county now.
Jones expects the office to open in2014.

The new office will be located at Kendall Rd and Prospect in the county adjacent the city’s southern boundary. The county planning commission approved the project at their June 7 meeting.

New Winery In Works Near Pozo

The SLO county planning commission approved a minor use permit for a 1900sf winery and tasting room at their June 7 meeting. The facility,Pozo Valley Winery, would produce an estimated 10,000 cases of wine from both on and off site grapes. The facility located on Pozo Rd near the village of Pozo will be allowed to hold 6 special events a year for up to 80 people. Planner Holly Phipps says she is working on about five more winery permits in the works, on the smaller side.

Work On EIR For Atascadero’s “Eagle Ranch Project Underway

The City of Atascadero is processing an EIR and specific plan for Eagle Ranch , an annexation of 3430 acres at the south end of town, currently a cattle ranch.The project would include 494 single family lots, 93 multi dwelling units and a 100 room hotel. The EIR is in the early stage.

Construction of Ayres Hotel In Paso Underway

Construction of the new Ayres Hotel and Resort in Paso Robles is underway. The big project is a 134,000 sf, 172 room resort hotel with a wellness/spa facility, conference room, restaurant, wine tasting/retail boutique, and ancillary parking, landscaping, gardens, orchards and vineyards. Morro Bay contractor Ecobaun Construction is overseeing  the earth work in progress now.

More than 10 years in the planning SLO’s thorniest traffic bottleneck is slated to get a fix with construction of a widened freeway bridge starting next year.Construction bids for the Los Osos Valley Rd interchange at Hwy 101 are expected to go out around May of next year says Tim Bochum,deputy director of Public Works for the City of San Luis Obispo.

“Construction design work is now at 95%,far enough along to go to Cal Trans for checking.”

“We have identified the $23.1 million we need to do the project says Bochum, with $15 million in State Transportation Improvement Project funds budgeted for release by July 2014. “The remainder will come from local sources” says Bochum, including some $8.6 million contributed by the newer retail projects along LOVR corridor.

“They paid quite a bit already” he says, notably Costco who did  the improvements to Calle Joaquin next to the interchange before they opened several years ago.

Bochum says the cost of the big bridge project from start to finish will be closer to $30 million but the city could get a pleasant surprise if the bidding climate remains “hungry” as it has been for the past few years.

“The sooner we go out to bid the better,” Bochum adds.Once the  project is under way it’s likely to take 2 years of work or more depending on the weather.

“This project should have gone out to bid two years ago but the state was short on funds.”

Bochum notes that this busy part of the city connects both residents  and visitors to the coast, serves as the access point from the west to the airport and So Higuera and in recent years has turned into the busiest retail district in town with big influx off the freeway.

“Were finally in the home stretch”says Bochum – to the relief of many locals. Still, construction tie ups will likely last a few more years – until 2016 when the project is completed.

Bochum says the city is also considering improving some local streets to increase circulation in this area including building a frontage road from Calle Joaquin to connect to Madonna and/or connecting LOVR to Madonna at Froom Ranch Rd.

Just how they will decide to cross the 131 acre Dalidio property will depend in part on what happens if and when a new buyer acquires the property. The land- now in the county- is said to be in escrow.

 

PG&E crews are using helicopters to complete the electrical upgrade project.

PG&E is nearing completion of an 16-mile electric upgrade project in San Luis Obispo County that will provide more reliable service for customers while enabling the company’s equipment to better withstand the sometimes harsh conditions on California’s coast.

The construction of the Atascadero-SLO 70-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Reconductoring Project  began in 2011 and includes upgrading 70 kV transmission lines from Atascadero to San Luis Obispo, replacing 132 wooden utility poles with light duty steel poles, and replacing 41 out of 45 steel transmission towers.

The project is scheduled to be completed later this year. Besides improving reliability, the project will result in electric equipment, including wooden utility poles and power lines, that are less susceptible to degradation from salty sea air and wildfires.

The first phase of the reconductoring project included installing new transmission tower foundations and tower bases along an existing eight miles stretch of line from the top of Cuesta Grade to PG&E’s San Luis Obispo Substation, and replacing 4 towers with tubular steel poles within the City of San Luis Obispo.  The first phase also included replacing about 60 percent of the existing wood poles from Atascadero Substation to the top of Cuesta Grade with light duty steel poles.  The new steel poles are not susceptible to fire.

The final phase of the project involves replacing the existing steel towers and remaining wood poles, and then installing new lines along the 16-mile stretch from Atascadero Substation to the San Luis Obispo Substation. This final phase will use multiple helicopters transporting the new towers and crew members to the various locations along the Cuesta Grade where ground crews will complete the installations.

In the middle of wine country a home grown brewer continues to add new capacity.

Firestone Walker brewery in Paso Robles is adding 8 new production tanks for beer with the tanks having been shipped in from Germany. The tanks being installed now should be ready for use by Labor Day says co owner Adam Firestone.

“The new tanks will initially just make the brewing operations less tight and cramped. Capacity is more a function of the brewhouse than the fermentation tanks and bright tanks, which come later in the brewing process. All of the wort (unfermented beer) is produced in the brewhouse before going to the tanks.”
The new brewhouse was completed last fall. The new brewhouse allows for growth over a long period of time; prior to that, the original brewhouse was pretty much maxed out say Firestone.
“The brewery has been growing since day one, it’s just a steady evolution.” Founded in1996 the brewery relocated from Santa Barbara in 2001 and is now one of the top craft brewers in the state.
According to their website “The brewery was founded by the Firestones of Firestone Vineyards fame. While the family is no longer involved with their namesake winery, they are completely involved in making the widely renowned beers of Firestone Walker.
Begun as a small local brewery in1996, Firestone Walker quickly gained nationwide acclaim. Now one of the top 30 or so largest craft breweries in the country, it has been named a national brewery of the year three different times, most recently in April 2010 at the prestigious World Beer Cup competition.”
The co-founder says 60% of Firestone beer is still consumed within the Central Coast despite its expanding popularity elsewhere.
Expansion in Paso Robles appears to be on going with 2 brewhouses now and plans for a third one soon.
One of the fastest growing Firestone brands at the supermarket is 805,named for the local area codes and a beer that naturally appeals to locals.

Fueled by high demand and tight inventory, California home sales and prices both experienced strong increases in April, with the median price surpassing the $400,000-mark for the first time in five years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported.
On the Central Coast  the median price of homes sold in April was up to $431,250 from $360,670 a year before.In Santa Barbara county the median went up to $648,260 from $390,380 in April 2012 – a 66% jump..
Home sales were up as well  8% higher in SLO year over year and up 11.4% in Santa Barbara county. 
 
“California’s housing market maintained its momentum in April, getting the spring home-buying season off to a good start,” said C.A.R. President Don Faught.  “Southern California regions such as Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego led the way in both month-to-month and year-over-year sales increases, while sales in the Bay Area region as a whole posted a healthy monthly gain but dipped slightly from last year.”
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 423,510 units in April – up 1.3 percent from a revised 417,880 in March but down 3.7 percent from a revised 439,770 in April 2012.
State Median Rises 28.9%
The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home climbed 6.3 percent from March’s revised median price of $378,960 to $402,760 in April, signaling the first time since April 2008 that the statewide median price has exceeded the $400,000 mark (and was the highest since then).  April’s price was up 28.9 percent from a revised $312,500 recorded in April 2012, marking 14 straight months of annual price increases and the tenth consecutive month of double-digit annual gains.

Bolstered by job growth the unemployment rate in San Luis Obispo county as well as California as a whole fell in April from both the month before and a year ago April.

The unemployment rate in the San Luis Obispo County was 6.1 percent in April 2013, down from a revised 6.8 percent in March 2013, and below the year-ago estimate of 7.9 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 8.5 percent for California and 7.1 percent for the nation during the same period.

In SLO County  the EDD says there are 4800 more nonfarm jobs in April 2013 compared to April 2012 and 800 more than March 2013.
Strong job growth is seen in the hospitality and business services sectors.

A 6.1 percent unemployment rate in April is the lowest number in several years during the economic downturn.On the street it means 8,800 residents remain jobless compared to 11,200 a year ago, an improvement of  3400 or 21%. Numbers like this represent  a real turnaround since the recession hit in 2009. Actual job growth is near 7000 over the past year in SLO County. In the farm sector the number of jobs has grown by 500 or 12.5% over the past year as the ag economy also fared well.

The last time SLO’s April number was this low was 2008,before the tough times hit when it was 4.7%. In April 2009 it hit 8.2% and 9.9% in 2010,9.1% in April 2011 and 7.9% in April 2012. From the trough of the recession the jobless rate has fallen nearly 4 full points.

Across the entire state the unemployment rate fell to 9% and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 10,400 during the month for a total gain of 756,900 jobs since the recovery began in February 2010, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two separate surveys.
The U.S. unemployment rate also decreased in April to 7.5 percent.

In March, the state’s unemployment rate was 9.4 percent, and in April 2012, the unemployment rate was 10.7 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,602,200 in April, an increase of 10,400 jobs over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change (April 2012 to April 2013) shows an increase of 273,100 jobs (up 1.9 percent).

EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN CALIFORNIA
The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, shows an increase in the number of employed people. It estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 16,951,000, an increase of 71,000 from March 2013, and up 443,000 from the employment total in April of last year.
The number of people unemployed in California was 1,673,000 – down by 76,000 over the month, and down by 303,000 compared with April of last year.

Beacon Economics says the California labor market added 10,400 new nonfarm jobs in April. These new positions represent a 0.1% increase over March employment levels. While April’s pace of growth is substantially slower than gains experienced in March, it does not come as a surprise given the sustained slow growth we’ve seen across the nation.

Although payroll numbers may have been weaker in April, the EDD household survey showed that the unemployment rate dropped four-tenths of one percent to 9.0%. The bulk of the drop in unemployment can be attributed to 71,000 people moving from unemployed to employed. These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Large divergences between the payroll and household surveys frequently lead to revisions in coming months. One thing that appears clear is that household employment in California has grown faster than the nation overall since 2003.
The Construction industry led California’s job gains in April, adding 7,400 payroll positions for a 1.2% monthly increase. The recovery of the state’s housing market has spurred demand for new residential units given the low level of available supply. We expect this industry to remain strong in the months ahead.
Except for Government and Professional and Business Services employment, all industries posted modest gains for the month. Because this survey-based data is volatile, it is not surprising to see Professional and Business Services employment down given the strong showing in the last few months. In April, Professional and Business employment contracted by 6,000 positions. Government employment shed another 1,400 positions in April.
April’s employment gains were fairly widespread throughout the state with most regions seeing positive growth. Los Angeles County saw the largest gains on an absolute basis, adding 8,000 new jobs, while smaller areas like Napa (+0.8%), Merced (+0.7%), and Madera (+0.6%) saw the largest percentage gains. The largest job losses were in the San Jose area.

The unemployment rate in the San Luis Obispo County was 6.8 percent in March 2013, down from a revised 7.0 percent in February 2013, and below the year-ago estimate of 8.7 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 9.4 percent for California and 7.6 percent for the nation during the same period.

Th improvement is nearly 2 full percentage points lower than year ago showing an economy on the mend.

In the past year the SLO economy added 4800 nonfarm jobs, 800 more in the past month.

$1 Million Dollar Gift will create new Strawberry Sustainability Research & Education Center
San Luis Obispo, CA– Focused on educating future leaders in the area of sustainability, growth and the success of the California strawberry industry, Cal Poly and the California Strawberry Commission announced today they have signed an agreement to create the first of its kind Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center.
Applied research and innovation across multiple disciplines coupled with access to real-world issues will enable Cal Poly and the California Strawberry Commission to achieve their shared vision of establishing a world class center focused on the sustainability of California strawberry farming.

Strawberries are the number one crop in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“This partnership will enrich our Learn by Doing approach by providing our students, faculty and staff the opportunity to work alongside experts in the strawberry industry on real-world challenges. This partnership is an important step forward in our desire to strengthen ties with key California industries so that our students can learn, do and succeed,” said Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong at a signing event in Sacramento Tuesday. “Faculty and undergraduate students from every corner of campus, including hydrologists, entomologists, plant scientists, engineers, packaging scientists and marketers, to name a few, will each have a hand in this important work for one of the nation’s leading industries.”
Locally-produced foods are important to Californians, and we have created this unique partnership to address challenges facing farmers in the 21st century,” said Mark Murai, president of the California Strawberry Commission. “We are committed to a robust partnership focused on innovation and applied research intended to help keep strawberry farming viable in California.”
The newly created Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center is a one-of-a-kind concept rooted in the hands-on learning model that defines Cal Poly. The center will focus on applied research that incorporates both teaching and learning experiences for Cal Poly students, faculty, and California strawberry farmers.

San Luis Obispo County’s total gross crop values for 2012 are estimated at a record breaking value of $ 861,803,000 compared to $ 736,208,000 for 2011. This represents an increase of nearly 18 % in value compared to 2011.

For the second consecutive year, the strawberry industry remained in the top position in overall value in 2012.

The total value of strawberries was over $ 205 million representing 24 % of the combined value of the County’s entire agricultural industry. The pricing for fresh market berries was very strong and increased by 14% over 2011 levels.Over 123,000 tons of strawberries were picked in 2012 from roughly 3,000acres. There was a 2% increase in all berry production.

Wine grapes remained the number two ranked commodity in value in 2012.Production overall rebounded dramatically from the effects of the devastating April, 2011 frost to record breaking levels. Overall, total production increased 31% compared to 2011.

Strong prices and high demand for San Luis Obispo County’s wine grapes set a new record for value at over $197 million.
Wine grape acreage expanded by 3% in 2012,with the majority of new acreage planted in the north county. The county has close to 40,000 wine grape acres compared to 28,000 acres 10 years ago.

During 2012, the beef cattle industry felt the effects of local and nationwide drought conditions. The uncertainty of available grass for grazing due to continued dry conditions locally reduced herd numbers. Lack of grass resulted in reduced animal weight. Drought conditions across the United States increased the demand for locally raised beef cattle , creating strong prices.

Favorable weather conditions in 2012 led to increased yields for avocado, lemon and orange growers.Total production for avocados increased by 103% and lemons increased by 42%. However, price per ton for avocados and lemons fell by 48% and 54% respectively. The county has just under 5000 acres of avocados.

Orange growers produced 73 % more fruit over 2011 levels and saw very strong prices.

Fairly mild weather conditions during 2012 had variable effects on vegetable production. Overall, the value increased 17% over 2011. Consisting of primarily annual crops, this agricultural sector tends to be speculative on assessing future customer demands with growers making adjustments from year to year on what is grown.

Napa cabbage production increased by 41% and production of edible pod peas increased by 70% compared to 2011. Labor shortages had an impact on the vegetable industry in 2012. Broccoli is the most grown vegie at nearly 10,000 acres.

Nurseries Bouncing Back

The nursery stock industry remained relatively stable, with overall values declining only 1%. Indoor decorative production decreased and the value dropped 17% from 2011. Increased production, solid prices and improved demand for outdoor ornamental plants resulted in a sharp increase of 82% in value compared to 2011. Bedding plants, sod and ground cover plants increased by 7% in value over 2011. For the first time in several years, nursery stock producers are beginning to expand production.