Affordable housing proposed as tallest building in San Carlos: MidPen Housing presents 100% affordable housing development proposal to council

The development would be seven stories tall and include two stories of parking partially underground. The current design accommodates one parking space per unit, but this ratio will likely decrease, Rebecca Cirelli, senior project manager for Mid Pen Housing said.

Approximately 25% of the units will be dedicated to San Mateo County and the city of San Carlos staff, and MidPen Housing is considering extending this limitation to San Carlos School District staff as well.

Around 15% of units will be reserved for extremely low-income households, and 5% of the units reserved for unhoused individuals who would be granted a tenant-based subsidy. Most of the units will be within 80% of the area median income and ideally many within 60%, Cirelli said. Some units will have two or more bedrooms.

There are currently 8,000 people on San Carlos’ affordable housing waitlist.

During public comment, Brian Perkins highlighted the type of people who would be able to afford these units once they become online, making the size of the building worthwhile to address the demonstrated need in the community.

“These are people with desperate needs who are making 60% of the area median income,” Perkins said. “Those are the store clerks at Trader Joe’s, they’re the pharmacy clerks that work at Walgreens or over at Stutter or Kaiser. These people are also SamTrans bus drivers.”

The building is designed in a U-shape, establishing an over 2,000-square-foot courtyard toward the back side of the property open for residents. This area will include two different play structures designed for children ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12, respectively.

Cirelli said designers found that establishing a childcare facility or commercial activation on the ground floor would not be worthwhile, however, councilmembers asked MidPen Housing to take another look.

The county purchased the properties in 2024 for approximately $8 million. They were previously under ownership of the now-defunct Veev Group, which has since been acquired by Lennar Corporation.

The property has faced opposition from neighboring residents, including at Pacifica Hacienda, during a separate approval process in 2020 for a proposed five-story building. The development by MidPen Housing would be seven stories tall.

With state density bonus law and local zoning in mind, the development could reach up to 83 feet tall. The current design is proposed to be close to 80 feet tall.

“We know that residents have questions,” Cirelli said. “Their concerns about height, setbacks and construction are legitimate, and we’re taking them seriously.”

State laws to move housing development proposals along does limit what the city and county can demand in regards to design and size. These laws hope to lower the hurdles needed to get housing units online.

MidPen Housing intends to compete for state financing in the spring of 2027. Once financing is secured, it is estimated to take two years to construct, beginning in 2029, with the earliest estimated move-in date in 2031.