Mixed-use project at Talbot’s site moves ahead: Long-awaited downtown development Bespoke gets commission backing

“I think this is a project win for San Mateo,” Commissioner Maxwell Schaumkel said during the commission meeting. “I really like the two- to three-bedroom expansion on this project. That’s a missing piece to a lot of affordable housing, is the larger units.”

Adjacent to it will be a second building comprising 149,000 square feet of office and 14,000 square feet of retail space. It would also include a 128-space underground parking garage.

Early planning discussions kicked off in 2021, and the project’s uniquely wide scope necessitated several development partnerships, including Prometheus, Harvest Properties and nonprofit developer Alta Housing. The complex agreement also involved lengthy plan revisions and discussions over the last several years, further exacerbated by an unfavorable lending market that’s led to the delay of countless projects in the area.

Some of the commercial aspects of the project, including the parking garage, will have to be constructed before the affordable housing units to qualify for critical affordable housing tax credits, according to a presentation at the commission meeting April 28. The commercial developers plan to make a nearly $3 million contribution to the affordable housing portion and a $6.5 million deposit, held until it is under construction.

“I think this is a great project for the city,” Commissioner Margaret Williams said, adding that the design has also been improved. “There’s been several iterations of this, and what we’re seeing today is really quite different than what I saw a number of years ago … the level of detail and articulation has increased.”

The 71 affordable units will make a dent in the city’s state-mandated housing goals, which stipulate the city must build 7,015 units between 2023-31, a certain percentage of which must be for low-income households. While many of the projects are still awaiting full entitlements, the city’s development pipeline has soared since the passage of Measure T, which increased height and density limits in certain parts of San Mateo, including downtown. As of the end of March, nearly 6,800 units sat in the city’s pipeline, from those in the preliminary application stage to those under construction.

The development has a target completion date of 2035. The City Council will review the project on May 18.