Developer for two San Carlos housing proposals acquired

Veev Group, a prefabricated home builder reportedly in the process of shutting down, was acquired by Lennar Corporation, a Florida-based developer, Lennar spokesperson Aaron Curtiss confirmed Friday. The acquisition places ownership of two San Carlos housing proposals in the hands of Lennar — the Black Mountain project at 808 Alameda de las Pulgas and a project at 626 Walnut St., the tallest residential building to be proposed in the city’s downtown at the time.

Veev had worked on the Black Mountain project, which calls for building 87 townhomes on an 11.4-acre hillside at 808 Alameda de las Pulgas, for seven years before receiving approval from the Planning Commission this May. Residents had raised concerns about the project but the City Council cited state affordable housing laws as its reason for opting against revisiting the proposal.

The 11.4-acre site was once the location of the Black Mountain Spring Water Company. Parts of that bottling factory, which was active from 1940 to 2000, still sit on the site including an underground tunnel used to harvest water from a natural spring on the eastern end of the property.

In 2015, city officials sought to preserve the Black Mountain property, a site made up of three hills totaling 25 acres along Alameda de las Pulgas between Madera Avenue and Melendy Drive, through a $45 million bond measure, Measure V. That measure failed with only about 39.5% of voters backing the tax.

The defunct development group was also behind a 35-unit housing proposal at 626 Walnut St., approved by the Planning Commission in 2020. The five-story building would also include ground-floor retail and a handful of affordable units if it were to be built. Residents had also expressed concerns about this project and its size but it was still ultimately approved.

The Board of Supervisors during a closed session discussion on Tuesday, Dec. 12, was scheduled to discuss the property including terms of price and payment but no report out was made from that discussion.

The ownership change has little effect on the city, Maltbie said in an email Friday morning. He noted the planning approvals are good for two years and developer services for things like environmental reviews have already been paid. If the planning approvals do expire, Maltbie said the new property owner would have to start the process over again, including paying related fees.

“These are privately owned properties with private funding behind them. The city does not have any ownership interest and is not a financial investor in private development projects,” Maltbie said. “Development companies come and go but the land remains and at some point, it will be purchased by a new owner.”