On Oct. 27 the Paso Robles Planning Commission voted 7-0 on all eight resolutions for The Landing. The project is Majestic Realty Co.'s plan to redevelop the former Estrella Boys School at 4545 Airport Road, and the City Council is scheduled to take it up on Nov. 17, according to Paso Robles Daily News. The road work that comes with it follows peak-hour traffic counts, not a construction calendar. Under the city's conditions, the first change removes the left turns across Highway 46 East at Union Road. The improvements that add new capacity, a roundabout and a bridge over Huer Huero Creek, sit just beyond what the project's own numbers estimate phase one will generate.
For anyone comparing the northeast side of town, that sequence matters more than the renderings. In the near term, it shapes how you get on and off the highway.
The First Building Starts the Clock
The city staff report lists two Highway 46 East mitigation measures that come due at 75 passenger-car-equivalent trips. The first closes the median at 46E and Union Road "to prohibit all left turn movements." The second extends the westbound left-turn lanes on 46E at the Golden Hill Road signal. Staff says that 75-trip threshold corresponds to construction of the first building in the project. At Golden Hill, the report's footnotes also convert the right-turn lanes on 46E into shared through and right-turn lanes.
Both intersections sit inside the state highway right-of-way, so Caltrans has to approve the work through its encroachment permit process. If Caltrans does not issue the permits, the developer pays an in-lieu fee to the city instead, and that money goes toward the future 46E grade separation. The staff report describes the Union Road closure without laying out a general detour. For trucks, the project's environmental impact report says traffic is to use Golden Hill Road to limit truck volume at the existing Airport Road and 46E intersection.
The Trigger Ladder in Full
Every off-site improvement is tied to a number of PM peak-hour trips. Here is how the staff report's Table 3 lines up, from the first building to the largest project:
| PM peak-hour trips | Required improvement | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Apply for Caltrans permits; begin intersection control evaluation | 46E at Union Road and Golden Hill; Airport Rd at Dry Creek Rd |
| 75 | Close the median to all left turns | 46E at Union Road |
| 75 | Extend westbound left-turn lanes; convert right-turn lanes to shared through/right | 46E at Golden Hill Road |
| 495 | Traffic signal or roundabout | Airport Road at Dry Creek Road |
| 495 | Connect Landing Lane to Dry Creek Road west | Project site |
| Above 495, with a 46E/Airport signal | Connection over Huer Huero Creek to Wisteria Lane and/or Union Road | East of Airport Road |
| Above 872, or above 1,249 if deferred | Union Road / 46E grade separation | Highway 46 East |
The 75-trip rungs rework intersections that already exist, and everything from 495 trips up builds new connections, so where phase one lands decides which of those northeast Paso Robles gets first.
Where Phase One Lands
Phase one covers about 50 of the site's roughly 140 acres. It includes a 310,800-square-foot cold storage warehouse, a 350-room hotel with a 50,000-square-foot conference center, 47,000 square feet of maker space and 16,000 square feet of retail. The project's February 2025 environmental impact report estimates PM peak-hour trips for each of those uses:
- Cold storage warehouse: 37 trips
- Hotel: 231 trips
- Conference center: 84 trips
- Maker space: 16 trips
- Retail and restaurant: 109 trips
Added together, those estimates come to about 477 PM peak-hour trips. That is well past the 75-trip rung that closes the Union Road left turns. It is also 18 trips short of the 495-trip rung that brings the Airport Road and Dry Creek Road signal or roundabout and the Landing Lane connection. The Huer Huero Creek crossing is listed for the phase two side of the table.
Those are planning figures, not counts. The same report assumed phase one "would be constructed between 2025 and 2027." The Tribune's Oct. 29 coverage still showed vacant dorms on the Airport Road site, so that window was a planning assumption, not a schedule. Still, the project's own numbers point one way. Phase one by itself is estimated to bring the left-turn closure and stop just short of the new connections.
The Optional Signal in Between
One piece sits outside the required list. Majestic is working with Caltrans on an evaluation of a temporary traffic signal at the existing Airport Road and 46E intersection. Today a raised "porkchop" median there prohibits eastbound left turns from 46E onto Airport Road. The staff report says that movement "is necessary to provide access to the proposed Phase 1 hotel."
Staff also describes the signal's limits. It is projected to reach operational capacity at about 590 passenger-car-equivalent trips, it does not replace the Huer Huero Creek crossing or the grade separation, and it is an optional developer-initiated improvement, not a required mitigation measure. A capacity of 590 sits above phase one's estimated 477, so the signal could carry phase one traffic during the interim. It also shows up in the trigger table as the condition attached to the creek crossing.
Its status came up at the hearing. A public commenter said Caltrans had already denied the light, and Community Development Director Warren Frace clarified that the application had not been denied and was still in the approval process, as the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
Airport Road itself gets work tied to phase one. Majestic executive vice president Phillip Brown described improvements in three segments, with two 12-foot lanes in each direction and a 14-foot landscaped center median, according to the Tribune. The development agreement adds a $3 million payment toward Airport Road beyond traffic impact fees.
The Largest Fix Has a Study, Not a Budget
The top rung, a grade separation over or under Highway 46 East, is the one most often pictured in renderings. It is also the furthest away. In August, the City Council voted 3-2 to approve a $356,583 Wallace Group feasibility study comparing undercrossings and bridges near Airport Road, Union Road and Huer Huero Creek. Paso Robles Daily News reported that the study does not authorize design or construction. Identifying how to pay for the planned Union Road overcrossing and interchange improvements, estimated at more than $150 million, remains a key next step.
How fast the project fills in decides when the later rungs arrive. The development agreement carries a 20-year term with a possible five-year extension. At the hearing, Brown said Majestic had allotted 25 years, while telling the commission, in the Tribune's account:
"Where we typically see projects of this size, for the first five, seven to 10 years, you end up with somewhere between 70% to 80% of the project, and then what we like to do is let that season determine where the project's heading."
He framed the phasing as a safeguard for the city, with approvals paid for one by one so the city would not be "writing big checks for infrastructure" ahead of the developer's performance.
Reading the Northeast Side With This in Mind
If you're weighing a home north of Union Road, The Landing changes your short-term picture in a specific, traceable order. The first building triggers the 46E and Union Road left-turn closure and the Golden Hill work, subject to Caltrans. Hotel access depends on the optional signal at Airport Road. The roundabout at Dry Creek Road and the creek connection depend on growth past phase one. The grade separation depends on further growth and a funding plan the city has not yet identified.
That order sits on top of construction already happening nearby. The city's Creston Road Phase A project runs from July 13, 2026 until fall 2028 and includes a closure of Rolling Hills Road between Creston and Golden Hill. The city's traffic advisory routes that detour north on Golden Hill to Union Road.
The project has a larger economic side too. The applicant estimates about 2,679 permanent jobs, almost 4,500 construction jobs, about $11.8 million a year for the city's general fund and $30 million in city impact fees. The development agreement also includes $500,000 each for the El Paso de Robles Library Foundation and the El Paso de Robles Recreation Encourages Community Foundation. The Tribune reported that most of the roughly 100 people at the hearing spoke in favor. The environmental report found transportation impacts that remain significant and unavoidable after mitigation. So to approve the project on Nov. 17, the council will need to adopt a statement of overriding considerations. The agenda and meeting video from the Planning Commission hearing are public.
Quick Answers
When would the Union Road left turns close? The closure is tied to 75 PM peak-hour trips, which staff says corresponds to construction of the first building, and it requires a Caltrans permit. The timing follows the building, not a calendar date.
Does the Nov. 17 vote start construction? The council is considering the environmental report, general plan amendment, rezone, master plan, tract map and development agreement. Approval would cover the plans, and the Tribune reported that Majestic expects to build in phases over a timeline it allotted 25 years.
Is the Airport Road traffic light approved? As of the Oct. 27 hearing, the city said the application was still in the Caltrans approval process.
If you're looking at homes north of Union Road and want to work out how these trip triggers could affect your daily drive from a specific property, I'm glad to go through the maps and the timing with you. Reach out to Michael Aanerud and let's connect.
