242-home project approved in San Carlos

SummerHill Apartment Communities is the firm behind the plans, proposing to build a six-story structure on a 2.2-acre lot at 11 El Camino Real. The building’s 242 units will include a mix of studios one, two and three bedrooms with 15% of total units listed at below-market rate. Of the 36 BMR units, 24 will be listed for very low income levels or 50% of the area median income — currently about $124,000 annually for a family of four — and 12 will be listed at low-income levels or 60% of AMI. 

The site will include roof decks, two central courtyard featuring a pool, stormwater planters, fire pits and lounge areas, balconies connected to most of the units, 297 parking stalls including 14 guest parking spots and most fitted with electric vehicle charging stations, and streetscape improvements. 

Once built, the project would be one of nearly two dozen residential communities built by SummerHill Homes, a Palo Alto firm. The new structure would replace a CVS store and parking lot, would be within walking distance of both the San Carlos and Belmont Caltrain stations and SamTrans bus stops and would neighbor a Hyatt Place Hotel, San Carlos Commercial Plaza, a county-operated residential development and a residential condominium project. 

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to work in San Carlos and to bring forward the first large residential project under the city’s newly adopted vision for housing, affordable housing and sustainability,” Richard Norris, SummerHill’s development director, said. 

Despite some concerns being raised by neighbors about the building’s height and the likelihood it’ll block views, commissioners praised the proposal and argued El Camino Real is the perfect area for taller residential buildings. City officials recently agreed to increase density and building height allowances allowed the mixed-use corridor to help the city meet its housing goals set by the state. 

The commission voted unanimously to grant the developer a waiver allowing the building to stand up to about 81 feet tall, about 2 feet taller than code allows. Portions of the upper levels will be set back to help reduce the overall feel of the building height, a feature commissioners said they appreciated. 

“It’s a good model for building substantial housing on El Camino without making it feel like you’re in a tunnel,” Commissioner Rick Hunter said. “The height of the building is what we’ll have to live with given the growth of the city.”