Permits extended for San Carlos townhomes

Moving forward on adding units to the city’s catalog is the focus, commissioners said. 

“I’m not concerned about this challenging site, even though it is challenging, this is a project of importance,” Chair Kristen Clements said. 

The development is proposed at 808 Alameda de las Pulgas, the former location of the Black Mountain Spring Water Company. It will bring 87 townhouse units for purchase, 10 of which will be reserved for low-income households. 

The units are a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, ranging between 2,525 to 2,950 square feet. Each townhouse will include a two-car garage, a rooftop patio and east facing balconies. 

The environmental impact report and entitlements were approved by the City Council in May 2023, which is in effect for two years, plus an additional 18 months due to state policy that automatically extends the approval to November 2026.

Although the applicant said they hope construction will begin before November 2026, the request for an extension is just to be safe, property owner Amit Haller said. The volatile state of the economy and unpredictable nature of the construction industry could be factors, he said. 

“We want to make sure we have the runway to complete this project,” Haller said. 

The project has yielded concerns from nearby residents worried about the environmental impact considering the site’s steep slope.

The development was initially proposed by Veev Group, a prefabricated home builder, who worked on the project for seven years before receiving approval from the Planning Commission in May 2023. Six months later, the company went bankrupt and was acquired by Lennar Corporation, a Florida-based developer.

The owner of the property, Amit Haller, said he has every intention of moving the project forward. The new developer will be Neovi, for which Haller works. Haller also founded Veev Group before it went belly up. 

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. That measure failed and the land was sold.