As work continues to transform the longtime vacant property at 1144 Chorro Street into the new Cal Poly Mustang Shop and Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the City of San Luis Obispo is now turning to the process of rezoning other nearby properties.
Sports Authority was the last business to occupy 1144 Chorro Street back in 2012.
“I'm happy that it's being used. It's better than just having a vacant building sitting around," said longtime San Luis Obispo resident Hannah Ingram.
There were attempts to convert the large retail space into a bowling alley, concert hall and restaurant in 2018, and another attempt to transform it into a 6-story mixed-use development in 2019. Neither of them panned out.
“Preferably like it to be a bowling alley or some sort of, like, meeting space for people to come and hang out that is, like, available and open to anyone," Ingram added.
Now, Cal Poly Partners is taking over the space, combining the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the downtown Mustang Shop into one building.
“This project brings new life to a long vacant corner and creates exactly what the city's downtown concept plan envisions," Cal Poly Director of Community Relations and Economic Development Courtney Kienow explained at Tuesday's city council meeting.
On Tuesday, the city council approved a rezoning of 1144 Chorro and six other properties that were still zoned for higher-density housing to accommodate the six-story development proposal by Jamestown LP six years ago. Since then, Mark Rawson with Jamestown LP explained that the zoning for higher-density housing is no longer needed and that the city has since updated its zoning regulations to include flexible density housing to accommodate more housing across the city.
“It's a model for what's possible when town and gown work together," Kienow said.
According to the Cal Poly Partners website, construction improvements for 1144 Chorro St. are underway with a scheduled winter 2026 move-in.
