The SLO Downtown Association awarded honors to over two-dozen businesses at its 28th Annual Beautification Awards Social held on March 1. The awards are given to those businesses that made physical or aesthetic improvements toward keeping Downtown beautiful in the 2016 calendar year.
The Downtown Association’s Design Committee oversaw the process from selecting the candidates to presenting the awards in categories including new construction, tenant improvements, merchandising, maintenance and several special awards. SLO Downtown Association Beautification Awards Committee chair Marshall Ochylski emceed the ceremony and presented a slide show while announcing the winners, along with help from Mayor Heidi Harmon who handed out the Mayor’s Award.
Committee members Landy Fike, Ryan Brockett, Karen Kile, Bruce Fraser, Dominic Tartaglia and Brent Vanderhoof assisted Ochylski in jurying the candidates and categorizing the awards. Top honors include the prestigious Mayor’s Award—this year given to Cal Poly Lofts, the Chairperson’s Award given to SLO HotHouse, and the Executive Director’s Award given to Monterey Street/Chinatown.
The social took place at SLO HotHouse and was made possible in part by donors including: Chamisal Vineyards, Barrelhouse Brewing Co., Giuseppe’s Cucina Rustica, and Madonna Inn.
New this year, top award winners were also presented with physical awards created by the Cal Poly Alpha Rho Chi professional architecture fraternity, Daedalus Chapter. Students involved were architecture students Regan Dyer, Ben Johnson, Jackson Sheridan, and Zack Moore. Awards were created using reclaimed scrap materials & laser cutting, designed to evoke the materials & process of construction in Downtown SLO.
A full list of award winners can be viewed at www.DowntownSLO.com. For more information, contact [email protected] or (805) 541-0286.