Top city officials and Chamber executives got a rare glimpse at the near-complete Railroad Square project in November.
The historic preservation and rehabilitation of the near-century-old building is 90 percent complete, said WestPac Investments, Inc., Vice President Hamish Marshall, who gave a walking tour of the project.
The Railroad Square building is expected to be the centerpiece of the San Luis Obispo Historic Railroad District, and will bring entertainment, restaurants and high-end boutiques, as well as offices, to the city.
“We wanted to maintain the integrity of the building that has such historical significance,” Marshall said. “And we were able to reuse and preserve a significant amount of original material in the building.”
Chamber staff, city council members and city staff toured the site on Nov. 24 from the ground floor up and saw the devastation still left behind by the 2002 fire that gutted the three-story building. Slightly charred beams remain and soon-to-be-replaced concrete flooring had dipped slightly on the first level.
Marshall and Depot Square LP, a group of partners, have worked with George Garcia of Garcia Architecture and Design to rehabilitate the 50,000-square-foot commercial project.
The design approach seeks to cosmetically restore the Railroad Square building to near-original condition, according to Garcia Architecture and Design, but the rebuilt annex portions will utilize massing, colors and materials indigenous to the historical rail yards surrounding the property.
City officials, Chamber execs tour Railroad Square Building
Railroad Square virtual tour
For more information on the building’s progress, click here.
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Top city officials and Chamber executives got a rare glimpse at the near-complete Railroad Square project in November. 
