The California property that is considered the world’s first motel has been listed for sale.
Hayes Commercial Group is marketing the 4.21-acre site just off Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo. There is no asking price for the property, which was the site of the Milestone Mo-Tel that opened on Dec. 12, 1925. The business was the first to use the word “motel” (a mix of motor and hotel) and later changed its name to The Motel Inn before closing in 1991.
Most of the original buildings at the site were demolished in 2006, and all that remains is the façade of the establishment’s restaurant and parts of the lobby building with its original mission-style bell tower.
According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, plans to build a new hotel at the site were approved in 2017, but the project stalled. Another proposal for an 83-room hotel complex was approved in 2023, but that also stalled.
The listing notes the previous project entitlements are all still in place and construction permits are ready to issue. The property is also zoned to allow for mixed-use residential, senior living and boutique resort developments. However, the remaining structures would need to be part of any development because the property is on the City’s Master List of Historic Resources.
Photo by Omar Omar / Flicker Creative Commons
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