Long-awaited new Santa Maria DMV office opens
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – After many years of waiting, the City of Santa Maria finally has a brand new Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office.
At 8 a.m. Friday morning, the spacious 13,500 square foot building located at 2850 Santa Maria Way opened its doors for the first time.
Waiting outside was a long line of people who were eager to come inside and see the modern facility that has replaced a much smaller and antiquated building that has been in operation since 1969.
“This is amazing,” said Lori Martinez of Santa Maria who among the first customers inside the new office. “I really love this new DMV. It’s much bigger. The wait time, I was here less than five minutes. I’m really happy and excited. I live close by, so it’s really convenient for me.”
In addition to its state-of-the-art operations inside, as well as greater parking capacity outside, DMV noted the new building also includes solar panels and is Zero Net Energy, meaning it will produce as much energy as it uses, and meets all current California building and green energy codes to help reduce the department’s carbon footprint.
The former DMV building was located in the heart of the downtown area at 523 South McClelland Street and was just 4,387 square feet in size.
The new building is three times the size of the old site and was built specifically to serve the growing needs of the Santa Maria and nearby communities.
“It’s beautiful,” said Edward Gonzales of Santa Maria. “The old DMV was a little bit too small for the population of Santa Maria, so this is a a big improvement. I think it should have came years earlier, but still, I think we’re patient here, so this is beautiful for the first day.”
According to the DMV, funding for the acquisition phase of the new office was approved in the 2015-16 fiscal year and the land acquisition was completed in October 2017.
DMV Public Information Officer Ronald Ongtoaboc added that various issues, including COVID-19, delayed planning and construction for some time.
Construction started in September 2023 and just finished up allowing for Friday’s grand opening.
As for the old site, Ongtoaboc said the DMV plans to add the old office property to the real estate surplus property list managed by the California Department of General Services (DGS).
Santa Maria Public Information Manager Mark van de Kamp said the City of Santa Maria may be potentially interested in acquiring the property, but did not elaborate further.
The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.