San Mateo's Kiku Crossing construction on track

“Affordable housing can end poverty in our community,” San Mateo Mayor Amourence Lee said in a press release. “San Mateo is committed to addressing the housing crisis, and I’m proud that our city dedicated our public land and $12.5 million to build the largest affordable housing project in our history. We are thrilled to welcome teachers, health care employees, first responders and new families to our beautiful community in 2024.”

“Kiku Crossing is an extremely important project for the city,” Councilmember Adam Loraine said. “It demonstrates what our city could get from a project that has the opportunity to grow a bit in height and density. It provides more opportunities for affordable units to house more people.”

The units will be offered at rates of between 30% to 80% of the area median income, ranging from 50,000 to low six figures, with around 25% of the apartments for public employees and 22 units for unhoused people, according to the city. Eight units are for people with developmental disabilities, according to Mollie Naber, associate director of Housing Development at MidPen Housing. Naber expects more than 1,000 applications. A lottery system will be used that considers income, unit size and household size and if there is a voucher. The county has previously said 80 households that move in would get project-based vouchers to help subsidize their rent. A large percentage of the units will have a preference for people who live or work in San Mateo, a council priority.

There will be 66 studio units at 380 square feet, 41 one-bedroom units at 529 square feet, 59 two-bedroom units at 784 square feet and 49 three-bedroom units at 1,029 square feet. The studio cost range is $635 to $1,801, the one-bedroom unit is $732 to $1,914, the two-bedroom unit is $799 to $2,822 and the three-bedroom units at $1,212 to $2,836.

Amenities include a community room, bike room, outdoor courtyard and rooftop deck. The 2,585-square-foot bike room will provide 268 bike parking spaces for residents.

The site also includes a five-story public garage with 525 public spaces and 164 private spaces that will open in the summer. A bridge will connect the two sites. Around 164 of the 225 units will have a parking stall in the parking garage.

Of the 225 housing units, MidPen added 61 units to the original concept by leveraging Assembly Bill 1763. The state law allows buildings with more density and height on transit-oriented properties when all units are below market rates. San Mateo contributed land for leasing and $12.5 million toward construction, while San Mateo County, Bank of America, the San Mateo County Housing Authority and the state also provided finances.

“That scale was achieved because of the city’s willingness to be smart about how to use the public land,” Naber said. “One reason we can get so many units is that all the parking is across the street connected by the bridge, which meant we didn’t have to give away two levels of the seven-story building for parking.”

The site was previously two public parking lots, and the city negotiated with the state to retain the properties for public benefit in 2012. The project broke ground in March 2022. Naber said the housing development is on schedule despite the recent rains and supply chain issues.

Starting around the end of April, the city plans to temporarily close the road on Fifth Avenue between South Claremont Street and Railroad Avenue while the pedestrian bridge is installed. It will include one full-day closure, three weeks of the lane closure and another day of a full road closure.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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