San Luis Obispo City Council approves purchase of Mello family home

本站添加: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]In San Luis Obispo, there is a bigger picture behind the city council's move Tuesday night to approve the purchase of this quaint little home behind me, even though it had a pretty big price tag.

[00:00:11]I'm community reporter Jessica Rowe with details on why the city chose to purchase the property right here near the mission.

[00:00:18]She loved to bake. Us as school children would come up after school. She'd always have chocolate chip cookies available, red licorice. Wyatt Mello speaks fondly of his late grandmother Lucille Nana Mello, who passed away last fall. She was 101 and a half. San Luis Obispo Deputy City Manager Greg Hermann says the downtown concept plan is what guided City Council to acquire the Mello family property at 975 Broad Street. Good evening, everyone. I'm Mayor Erica A.

[00:00:47]Stewart.

[00:00:48]>> In a unanimous vote with no public comment against the decision, the purchase was approved by the City Council. The city is using FEMA reimbursement funds from the 2023 storm and money from the city's assigned fund balance to make the purchase. We've been able to do a lot of great things because of that plan, including our cultural arts district, the new parking garage, and the soon-to-come Slow Roll Theatre.

[00:01:10]This house is actually a part of that plan. It's intended to be a future community-serving space in our downtown that really complements the investments that we've made in the cultural arts district.

[00:01:19]>> family originally listed the 1,800 square foot home for 1.7 million dollars. The city negotiated that down to less than 1.4 million dollars. I could see it being great event space for interactive exhibits or events. Steve Smith is the executive director of the History Center next door to the home. It's just a perfect extension of the city fostering the arts and the culture in San Luis Obispo. It was a very difficult decision. There's a lot of emotion involved when it comes to a family property like this. In the past, the fact that this property was privately owned meant that anytime the city wanted to shut down Broad Street for events here near the mission, they had to work in coordination with the homeowner. That factor is now eliminated in your community of San Luis Obispo. I'm Jessica Rowe, KSBW News.