The owners of a commercial office building in downtown Redwood City have settled with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco after a legal battle over the height of a proposed affordable housing development slated for 612 Jefferson Ave.
The project entails 20 below-market rate condominiums ranging from one to three bedrooms in a six-story building that would sit on what is now a vacant, 5,000-square-foot lot. The condominiums would be available to those making between $63,000 and $85,000 for a family of four, or 80 percent of the county’s median income.
Attorneys Geoff Carr and Kevin Frederick, whose law offices at 605 Middlefield Road are on the same block, felt the proposed building was incompatible with the area for a variety of reasons, but opposed it primarily because of its height.
The Planning Commission approved the project in 2017. Carr appealed the decision, which was rejected by the City Council. A lawsuit soon followed.
Now that Carr and his partners reached a settlement with the affordable housing nonprofit, the development will proceed as approved, six stories and all. Habitat for Humanity did agree to a number of maintenance requirements. For example, the nonprofit will have to conduct a post-construction survey to ensure no damage is done to 605 Middlefield Road, it will wash the exterior of Carr’s office building three times during construction and maintain landscaping along the property line.
Carr said he reluctantly agreed to settle after losing a 2-1 vote with his partners. He said he also settled because of fatigue and the cost of the legal battle, adding that the legal basis for his argument is “thinner” with a nonprofit than with private developers.
“We like Habitat and we want it to happen and we only wanted it to come down a floor or two,” he said. “We were hoping to settle for five, but it didn’t happen.”
Not mentioned in this article is that due to the delay caused by Vader’s lawsuit construction costs for the Habitat for Humanity Project which will allow 20 families to stay in the Bay Area, originally estimated at $13 million, has increased to $17 million. That’s $4 million the non-profit could have been using toward another housing development. Hopefully Vader won’t be receiving attorney fees with this settlement.
The article states that Carr’s office at 605 Middlefield is on the same block. Not true, it’s around the block from the 612 Jefferson location.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(1) comment
Not mentioned in this article is that due to the delay caused by Vader’s lawsuit construction costs for the Habitat for Humanity Project which will allow 20 families to stay in the Bay Area, originally estimated at $13 million, has increased to $17 million. That’s $4 million the non-profit could have been using toward another housing development. Hopefully Vader won’t be receiving attorney fees with this settlement.
The article states that Carr’s office at 605 Middlefield is on the same block. Not true, it’s around the block from the 612 Jefferson location.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.