It’s always fun to look back in time, but it’s just as fun to imagine the future. With the Grover Beach Visioning Project completed in the spring – summer of 2004, residents and business owners began the process of identifying a future “look and feel” for West Grand Avenue.

Key words and phrases repeated time and again included: Vitality. Pedestrian friendly. Traffic calming. Mixed use. Browsing – bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants, and retail. Beachfront lodge and conference facility.

Take some pictures now. Five years from now, it may be hard to remember exactly what was where. Consider the following areas:

• Fourth Street and Grand Avenue – one of the City’s key entryways.

• In between Grand Junction next to the Train Station and the Grover Tech Center on Front Street.

• A civic center “node” building around the central business district and Ramona Garden Park.

• North side of Grand Avenue running from Fifth Street up though Seventh Street.

• NW corner of the Pacific Coast Highway & Grand Avenue.

Imagine 150 ocean-view rooms, conference facilities to serve the South County, a premier wedding and special event site, and fine dining. Packaged with open space, inviting public spaces, and a stunning design that blends in with the surrounding beauty of the area – a signature project is in the making!

Working closely with representatives from State Parks – with meetings held every month, the City is moving closer to making this project a reality. Progress to date:

• Concept Agreement has been signed by the State and City covering property development interests, and City and State roles and responsibilities for developing the site.

• Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) being developed to formalize the City/State as an entity to make this project happen (target June 2005).

• Market & Feasibility Study and Constraints Analysis are underway (target summer 2005) to address State requirements before issuance of a Request For Proposal to potential developers (target summer 2006).