The City of Pismo Beach is undergoing a transformation that includes parking , street improvements, and new additions at the Pismo Pier as part of an effort to modernize and beautify the popular tourist destination.
Construction crews have been hard at work on the Pismo Pier plaza project and a few miles north, on the Shell Beach road streetscape.
While bulldozers skate across the pavement, hundreds of people each day traverse the newly opened Pismo Preserve.
Pismo Beach City Manager Jim Lewis said the goal is to make the area more enticing to visitors while maintaining the historic area's classic feel.
"Pismo Beach is classic California and we always want to be classic California," Lewis said. "What we want to do is freshen up and create more sense of place or quality places and really create areas where you can have great experiences with your family and friends. So what you're seeing here is the living room and the walkable path in Shell Beach and the beautiful outdoors in Pismo preserve."
In an effort to make the pier more interactive, a trio of airstreams will offer different experiences to visitors.
One of them is a concessionaire serving appetizers and drinks.
The second airstream will serve as a visitors center offering information about the area.
And the third vehicle ushers in the return of the beloved Sheldon family bait shack that stood at the pier for nearly 45 years before it was torn down with the start of construction.
"We're proud to have Sheldon's bait shack back," Lewis said. "Sheldon and his family have long had a shack out there where they sell polls, bait, candy, snacks. It's really been a staple on our pier."
The Sheldons will lease the airstream from the City of Pismo Beach. Work at the plaza is set to wrap up in May.
Meanwhile, the streetscape in Shell Beach, which features an 18-block pedestrian and bike bath, updated water and landscaping, is just a couple months away from completion.
That project is the City's single biggest ever capital project, costing around $14 million.
