Laurel Creek expanding commercial and residential opportunities in SLO

Laurel Creek, a mixed-used space, is under construction in San Luis Obispo.

The Lower Broad Street area, also known as "LoBro," is expanding with the Laurel Creek development off of Laurel Lane, re-purposing an existing warehouse space into commercial units, as well as 100 residential units.

“It's sort of, you have to know someone to even know this place exists," commercial-use tenant Brian Schwartz explained. "But the word is getting out and more people are finding out about it. It's just a beautiful space.”

Schwartz is one of the many self-employed tenants who uses the commercial space, enjoying the amenities and adaptive rooms for his publishing consultant business.

“I think it's an ideal spot for what they're doing with it.”

Noelle Dubois is the owner of Bang the Drum Brewery, having now been in the space since September 2020, and says she’s found the proximity to walking and bike trails as a huge benefit for her business.

“If you're walking along, you get to kind of discover the sign that says, 'Hey, there's a brewery/bakery back there,' and you just kind of get to wander up," Dubois explained. "I think that's a cool way to kind of break up a bike ride.”

But with its location tucked behind the incomplete project, Dubois wants construction to be completed so that the residential portion will help with business.

“Right now, we have to pull people back here all the time and we have that but it would be cool to have it built in. Very excited for that," she said.

It’s another development in the area adjacent to Orcutt Road and Laurel Lane that has already seen many businesses and housing units flood the area, but for local residents like Ralph Lee, that’s a good thing.

“I'm a born and raised local and I've seen a lot of my friends get driven out of this town because of the price," Lee said. "So anytime there's new growth, new things going on, I think it's a good thing.”

KSBY reached out to members of the Laurel Creek Development team but a timeline was not yet revealed for the completion of the project.