Wing Fat restaurant, on the corner of Third Avenue and Claremont Street, is one of the buildings that will be demolished to make way for a new 74-foot building, below.
The proposed Block 21 development that would demolish an entire downtown San Mateo block and have it be replaced with a mixed-use residential building has been amended to include an additional level of housing following Planning Commission calls for more units.
Windy Hill Property Ventures envisions Block 21 as a proposed six-story mixed-use building at the block of East Third Avenue, South Delaware Street, East Fourth Avenue and South Claremont Street. Windy Hill has previously said the development would demolish all existing buildings on the block. The current area has 11 parcels with 40 owners featuring residential, auto repair, a gas station, restaurant and retail uses. Developer Mike Field had previously stated all owners have agreed to sell their property. Windy Hill developed similar mixed-use projects nearby, at 405 E. Fourth Ave. and 406 E. Third Ave.
Windy Hill adjusted the project to include an additional level of housing to make it six stories and 111 residential units, of which 53 are studio apartments and 58 one-bedrooms, according to planning development documents. Twelve units would be considered very low income, around 15%. The project previously called for five stories with 68 housing units of 28 studio apartments and 40 one-bedroom units. The fourth, fifth and sixth floors would have residential units. The fourth floor has 37 units, with 18 studio and 19 one-bedroom, the fifth floor offers 40 total units evenly split, while the sixth floor has 34 units divided into 15 studio and 19 one-bedroom options, planning documents showed.
A rendering of Block 21. An aerial view of the original site proposal from Third Avenue and South Claremont Street.
The additions come after the Planning Commission, at its Sept. 14 review session of the Block 21 project, made it clear it wanted more housing units to balance the job growth expected with the extra commercial businesses. The Planning Commission remained concerned jobs are growing at a faster rate than housing units can be built. The resulting housing to jobs imbalance has led to calls to reduce the deficit and maximize downtown real estate. Several planning commissioners asked for more floors of residential housing at low to medium income levels to help. However, Field has previously said he needs to balance the Planning Commission’s request for more housing with the desires of the neighborhood, who want to see fewer housing units.
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The development is around 181,000 square feet of office space, and the total floor area of the building is 271,328. The proposal calls for 410 on-site parking spaces within a two-level underground garage. Parking level one would have 203 spaces for office use, while the second level would have 148 for office use and 56 for residential. The proposed building height is around 72 feet, requiring commission approval under state density bonus law. Measure Y currently limits building heights to 55 feet in the city. The city can grant a request for height exemptions if it does not cause affordable housing cost reductions and meets state laws.
This application was filed Oct. 11 and is under review with city departments. A pre-application was filed July 30.
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