Along Maple Street

Beyond the loan, the city will also be leasing the property — currently valued at $5.14 million — to MidPen Housing, presumably on very generous terms. Thanks to funds from a variety of other sources — including both the county and the John Sobrato Foundation — MidPen is well on the way to securing the nearly $70 million needed to construct its 1580 Maple Street project. A project that will not only include for-rent housing in sizes ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, but also offices for both on-site and outside service providers, plus a community building with a communal kitchen and spaces for classes and events. Preliminary plans also call for a dog run, barbecue and sitting areas, and gardening space.

The site has one small drawback, which one councilmember noted during this week’s discussion. At least some of the project’s future residents are likely to be disabled in some way, making easy access to transit highly desirable. Today, however, the nearest transit stop is at the corner of Maple and Blomquist streets. That stop is serviced only by SamTrans bus 270, which runs hourly (and not at all on Sunday). And the intersection is the one just after Maple Street crosses over the freeway, rather than the one closest to 1580 Maple. Thus, unless the new development provides a shuttle service of some sort, residents without vehicles would need to make a nearly 300-yard trek to the bus.

When the Redwood City Council voted to approve the loan for 1580 Maple St., it also approved a second loan in the amount of $7.69 million for a separate affordable housing project planned for a site just one block from a different section of Maple Street. The so-called “Rise City project” is slated for 1304 Middlefield Road, across Middlefield from Rise City Church on a parcel once owned by that church. Next year, Sand Hill Property Company — the project’s owner and developer — aims to begin construction on a seven-story, 94-unit affordable apartment building that, like 1580 Maple, would be leased entirely (except for the manager’s unit) to folks earning at a variety of affordability levels. There, too, a solid number of units would be leased to households earning no more than 20% of our area’s median income.

This new building’s lobby, a “flex space,” and management offices would be located on the ground floor, along with a portion of the building’s internal 48-space parking garage. That garage would also occupy a good chunk of the second floor, with the rest being given over to a few of the building’s apartments. All residents would have access to a large outdoor courtyard on level 3, and smaller outdoor terraces on levels 2 and 7. Finally, there would be a small outdoor area behind the building at ground level, developed with both a “gathering space” and a community garden.

Unlike 1580 Maple, 1304 Middlefield has a bus stop right out front served by multiple buses, one of which seemingly runs every 15 minutes or so. And for those residents who are able to walk (or ride; the building will have plenty of bicycle storage space), the Middlefield Road and Main Street intersection is a mere two blocks away.

Ideally, both projects will break ground in 2027 and thus will open their doors before or around the year 2030. Sooner would be better, but at least it’s nice to know that much of the funding for projects like these comes from fees paid by developers such as that of ELCO Yards, which is expected to soon pay $5.8 million in housing impact fees.