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As we approach the end of October, Halloween forces us to think about things that are typically considered scary: monsters, witches, ghosts … the real estate market. This year has seen some truly horrific home sales statistics, and now spooked real estate agents and developers can only dream of the good ol’ days when Read More →
Fed gives Main Street the brush-off
Perhaps in some Hollywood version of reality, the Bacara resort in Goleta really could pass for The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Bretton Woods, as it is commonly known, was the getaway spot where the framework for the modern financial system was created in the summer of 1944 as the U.S. and Read More →
Paso Robles shopping center debuts with opening of Lowe
Lowe’s is now open for business in San Luis Obispo County. The home improvement store had its grand opening Oct. 23 near Highway 46 in northeastern Paso Robles. The 169,112-square-foot Lowe’s is a strong anchor for the 287,900-square-foot Golden Hills Plaza, a $70 million shopping center that is also slated to include a Bed, Bath Read More →
Dole IPO may confound the skeptics
By the time you read this column, Dole Food Co. should be on the glide path to an initial public stock offering that might mark a turning point for the markets and for long-suffering investors. Emphasis on the word “might.” I’m hedging my bets just a bit when it comes to Westlake Village-based Dole and Read More →
Fight over coastal Cayucos property could set precedent
The California Coastal Commission has stopped a Cayucos family from building a motel in the seaside town of 3,000, and the family is fighting back, launching a case that has captured attention across the Golden State. The DeCicco family spent 10 years dreaming up plans for an inn and four townhomes on their Highway Read More →
Lack laments that Santa Barbara
Measure B, the controversial height limit proposal on the city’s November ballot, will no doubt change the way buildings are erected in Santa Barbara, but contractor David Lack thinks there’s something more pressing at hand: making green builders feel welcome. “If someone like me bends over backward to meet the city requirements and goes to Read More →
Green Coast gets ready for its close-up
Six months ago I wrote a column suggesting that we reinvent the tri-county economy as a “Green Coast” for energy research and innovation. Now there are signs this idea is becoming a reality. On Sept. 30, a broad-based coalition of business, government, major universities and nonprofit groups applied to the California Department of Housing and Read More →
