San Mateo approves 232-unit apartment project on West 20th Ave.

The building would have a three-story parking garage, one below grade, with 277 spaces. Units would be a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. The units for very-low income households will largely be concentrated as one-bedroom apartments. 

Proposed developer Summerhill Apartment Communities submitted an application to demolish the existing office building and construct the new multi-family residential building in April 2025. 

The project site is bounded by Elkhorn Court to the east and the existing Lark Apartments and Corte Bella residential development.

Near the site also includes offices owned by Asiya Shriners that maintain childcare and eldercare facilities. Members of Asiya Shriners, a nonprofit fraternal and philanthropic organization, spoke during the City Council’s public hearing opposing the project due to the projected impact on traffic and congestion in the area. 

“We’re not anti-housing, we recognize the need for housing and I support responsible development,” Asiya Shriners Board President Ronnie Antonio said. “However, we believe the Planning Commission failed to give adequate weight to the significant public safety, traffic and community impacts this project will have on existing organizations that have served San Mateo for many years.”

Antonio raised concerns that a seven-story development would substantially increase traffic in an already heavily congested area. 

This increase would impact tenants and the nonprofit from wanting to remain in the area if “access safety and operational conditions become unmanageable,” he said. 

While Councilmember Lisa Diaz Nash agreed that her major concern is around traffic safety, she felt the developers have worked to address it. 

“There are a number of recommendations that have either been accepted or will be considered that Summerhill has put together that I’m very much in support of,” Diaz Nash said. 

Acknowledging that there is very little the city can do to deny or significantly alter the density of the proposal due to state laws that work to push affordable housing through the pipeline, Councilmember Rob Newsom Jr. acknowledged the work that will need to be done to ensure the development does not have a negative impact on nearby communities. 

“I just want to continue to press that we look for ways to make this safe,” Newsom said. “Asiya Shriners are a huge asset to our community, and the services that they provide are immense and I don’t want to see anyone displaced by the growth, but I understand this growth is coming.” 

The development will also include a swimming pool, clubroom and open space courtyard on the third level. Multiple outdoor activity areas will also be included on top floors. Developers also proposed a new public plaza at the street level near the corner of West 20th Avenue and Elkhorn Court which could include public art, landscaping and seating. 

San Mateo has seen an influx of multifamily residential development applications in recent years, largely after the result of Measure T, which passed in November 2024 and amended the city’s previous five-story building limit.