SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsAvila's RenaissanceSunday, April 17, 2005The renaissance taking place in Avila has been a longtime coming for business owners and residents, who have watched the town evolve from an oil cleanup zone to a place where tourists and locals play together on the sand.In the past year, construction has picked up, and on any given day, crews are busy working on a host of projects that will house restaurants, shops, apartments, homes, a grocery store, hotels and a new Avila Community Center. Avila Lighthouse Suites, a 54-unit hotel developed by Martin Resorts, will be among the first to open in late summer at First and Front streets. Other projects slated to open this year include the Port San Luis Marine Institute -- a museum, community center and aquarium - at Avila Beach Drive and San Juan Street. Construction of the Gillespie Project, which has 3,000 square feet of commercial space and six apartments, and Brett Whitaker's Courtyard at Avila -- a mixed-use development with nine condo units -- is under way. Rob Rossi's project called The Landing -- 14 residential units and 14,000 square feet of retail space -- will begin construction this summer. John Wilson's Oceans 17, with 790 square feet of commercial space and 15 condos, could be under construction in May. Meanwhile, the Avila Grocery, developed by Rudy Bachmann, should be ready for a tenant in mid-June. In all, there will be about 70,000 square feet of retail space -- including restaurants -- 70 to 100 new lodging rooms and about 145 new residential units, ranging in price from about $500,000 to more than $1 million. The rebuilding of Avila is expected to wrap up in about three to five years, making it a year-round destination for vacationers. When it's over, it will have a style all its own. "It's going to have that Key West, Caribbean look to it," said John Sorgenfrei, owner of the public relations firm Tom Jones & Associates and member of the Avila Business Association. In the late 1990s, residents and county planners developed a vision for Avila that would retain its edge. It was the kind of town where bikers at Mr. Rick's bar on Front Street rubbed elbows with millionaires, said county planner James Caruso. "People didn't want it to be Laguna Beach," he said. The Avila now under construction isn't necessarily offbeat, but it isn't stamped out of a mold either, residents say. Read entire article: Avila's Renaissance The Tribune, Julie Lynem To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.sanluisobispo.com. (c) 2005, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Read More
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