Nov. 22--A $20 million resort planned to be built off Highway 46 East in Paso Robles would combine an 80-room hotel, a Parisian bakery and 17 single-family homes in a design that simulates a European village. 

A French couple who recently moved to Paso Robles, Didier and Beatrice Cop, hope to construct the destination resort on 21 acres at the northeast corner of Buena Vista Drive and Experimental Station Road. 

Two other resort projects are proposed for that area. Together, they would help spruce up one of the main gateways to the city, said Danna Stroud, director of the Paso Robles Visitors and Conference Bureau. 

But the Cops' project, if approved by the city, would be a unique venture for Paso Robles. 

"It would bring a little international flair to our neighborhood," Stroud said. 

The French-style village would also include a culinary and baking school and retail shops, said Didier Cop, a telecommunications executive from the Bay Area. 

He and his wife have long wanted to develop a resort and have found the perfect location in Paso Robles, he said. And he believes their project would fill a niche not yet being addressed in the area. 

"We're missing a high-end destination resort in the area," said Cop, who was returning calls Wednesday and Thursday from Italy and France, where he was on business. 

The Cops have not yet decided a price range for the homes, which will be located on half-acre lots, he said. 

The project is scheduled to go before the Paso Robles Planning Commission on Dec. 10 and before the City Council on Dec. 17. 

If the city approves the resort, Cop plans to open the project to outside investment partners. He estimates the project would take about 2 1/2 years to build. 

Other resorts planned for the area include: ¥ Paso Robles Hot Springs and Spa, which has been approved to build a 223-room resort on 240 acres located east of North River Road and west of Buena Vista Drive. 

A 200-room resort proposed by Paso Robles developer Matt Masia that would include 80 "casitas" (small buildings with amenities) on 386 acres north of Highway 46 East and south of Dry Creek Road. Masia is currently working with the state Department of Fish and Game on ways to protect the San Joaquin kit fox, city planner Darren Nash said. 

Another recent European-influenced addition in the area is Villa Toscana, a Tuscan-style bed-and-breakfast inn located near the Martin & Weyrich Winery on Buena Vista Drive. 

The Cops moved to Paso Robles from San Francisco in May, and their daughter is an architecture student at Cal Poly. While their resort project moves forward, they will operate a Mediterranean cafe and bakery called Panolivo, which is expected to open on Park Street in February. 

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