A unanimous Planning Commission recommendation has moved The Landing, a proposed redevelopment of the former boys school site near Airport Road, to the Paso Robles City Council. The nearly $1 billion plan could add thousands of jobs and more than a million square feet of warehouses, shops and offices to the airport corridor, while leaving traffic and infrastructure questions for the council to weigh.
The vote sends the roughly 140-acre proposal, which is now estimated to cost nearly $1 billion, to the Paso Robles City Council for consideration on Nov. 17, according to New Times San Luis Obispo. That cost estimate marks an increase from an earlier projection of $800 million with about 1 million square feet of buildings, a figure Paso Robles Daily News reported back in June. Majestic Realty representative Philip Brown told the commission the project's vision has changed substantially since it was first pitched, and he said construction costs could now approach $1 billion.
From Youth Correctional Facility to Commercial Hub
The project would turn the site of the former Estrella Youth Correctional Facility, located at 4545 Airport Road, into a phased commercial and industrial development, per the Daily News. The first phase alone calls for a cold-storage warehouse, a hotel and conference center, retail and maker spaces, offices and an 11.6-acre stormwater basin. Later phases are projected to bring the development to roughly 1.6 million square feet of industrial park, office, retail and other uses, including a market hall and winery-related businesses, bringing in additional warehouses and restaurants along the way.
Majestic Realty has spent six years refining the project, and the proposed development agreement would run for 20 years as construction proceeds in phases over several years. Warren Frace, Paso Robles's community development director, described the development as a transformational economic development and job creation opportunity around the airport. Brown said Majestic is also exploring opportunities to attract industries beyond wine and tourism, including businesses tied to the city's proposed spaceport project.
Jobs, Tax Revenue and a Lost Apprenticeship
According to a developer-commissioned economic impact analysis cited by New Times San Luis Obispo, The Landing could eventually generate approximately 2,679 permanent jobs and nearly 4,500 construction jobs, while contributing an estimated $11.8 million annually to the city's general fund. The commission also heard directly from workers with ties to the site's past. Mark Simon, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, brought several local apprentices to the meeting and told commissioners he had completed two years of his own apprenticeship at the boys school before it closed, a closure he said meant no more jobs at the site.
The proposed development agreement also includes community benefits beyond job creation: $250,000 for affordable housing projects, $500,000 for the El Paso de Robles Library Foundation and $500,000 for the El Paso de Robles Recreation Encourages Community Foundation, which supports parks and recreation, the Daily News reported.
Traffic Remains the Sticking Point
The commission's recommendation does not settle how the area will handle added traffic. Airport Road and Highway 46 East are already a focus of transportation concerns as development in the corridor expands, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Commissioner Ty Christensen said road improvements need to be in place as the project moves forward.
Majestic Realty is working with Caltrans to secure approval for a temporary signal at Airport Road and Highway 46 East, and has offered $3 million for Airport Road improvements in addition to required traffic impact fees. The Daily News reported that transportation improvements would be tied to project-related traffic thresholds, with temporary measures intended to help circulation as longer-term fixes are developed. Those larger projects remain a funding challenge: the Tribune reported that the Union Road overpass is estimated to cost $150 million and remains unfunded, while the Wellsona underpass on Highway 101 recently cost about $12.2 million. Separately, the City Council approved a feasibility study of three underpass options, including one at Airport Road; the study is expected to take six to nine months and cost $356,583.
What transportation records show
Caltrans identifies traffic delays and poor operations at the State Route 46 intersections with both Union Road and Airport Road, according to its project records. That documents existing conditions, but does not by itself establish how those conditions compare with the traffic assumptions for The Landing. Caltrans records show $3.1 million in state-programmed and city-allocated funds for the Union Road project's design stage. Additional funding is still needed to fully fund construction.
Oak Trees and a Spaceport in the Background
The project would also require removing 30 oak trees, with the developer proposing to plant 202 replacement oaks. The Landing is within what the city calls its Space Innovation and Technology Park area, as Paso Robles separately pursues an FAA license application for a potential horizontal commercial spaceport at Paso Robles Municipal Airport, the Daily News reported. The city has described the spaceport and technology corridor as a long-term economic development initiative to diversify the local economy, and has retained aerospace consulting firm RS&H to independently review materials for the FAA application, according to the City of Paso Robles. The city says the RS&H licensing contract does not itself constitute FAA approval or authorize future commercial launches, according to its spaceport update. The city has also said NASA's Ames Research Center has expressed interest in exploring future collaboration should Paso Robles secure a spaceport license.
With the Planning Commission's recommendation in hand, The Landing now heads to the City Council on Nov. 17, where members will weigh the project's economic promise against the traffic and infrastructure questions that dominated this week's hearing.
