When it comes to running errands, I often find myself driving up and down El Camino Real. Just this week, in fact, I had an appointment at a hair salon in Belmont, and unless I had been going during one of our peak commute hours, El Camino Real is the quickest, most direct route. And when I am out and about checking on the progress of some of Redwood City’s major development projects, I often find myself walking along El Camino.
Because El Camino is such a major artery running through most (all?) of our Peninsula cities, it makes sense that for most of its life it has been peppered with a great many of our restaurants, retail establishments and automobile dealerships. It has also been home to a handful of offices and multifamily residential buildings; but, until relatively recently, I don’t recall there being a great many of those, at least not in Redwood City. That changed in the last decade or so, though, beginning with the construction of a couple of large apartment buildings along the busy traffic corridor.
Like most of the major development projects that began springing up in downtown Redwood City a dozen or so years ago, the large housing projects that you find along El Camino Real today are there in large part thanks to Redwood City’s Downtown Precise Plan, which streamlined the approval process for certain projects within the plan area. What many people may not have known — although developers did — was that the DTPP area reached out to encompass the half-dozen or so blocks of El Camino Real from Maple to Brewster streets. Thus, thanks in part to the DTPP, Redwood City today has Huxley Apartments (the seven-story, 137-unit luxury apartment building located at 1355 El Camino Real) and, next door at 1405 El Camino Real, Highwater (eight stories, 350 luxury apartments, 35 of which are affordable).
Both Huxley and Highwater were constructed by Greystar, who also built the 305-unit Franklin 299 apartments and the 175-unit Cardinal Apartments building, both along Franklin Street. Greystar was instrumental in the creation of the six-block ELCO Yards development, two blocks of which lie along El Camino Real. Although that development did not fall within the DTPP area, with four major projects under its belt, Greystar was well versed in getting things built in Redwood City, and was comfortable shepherding the huge office-and-residential (with some retail) ELCO Yards project through the approval process. Greystar wound up selling the project to another developer (IQHQ) before construction got underway, but, at IQHQ’s behest, built the six-story, 39-unit affordable housing building at 1304 El Camino Real that is a key part of the overall project.
For three years now, IQHQ has been working on ELCO Yards’ underground garages and four large office buildings, one of which sits on El Camino Real at Cedar Street. Relatively soon, construction should get underway on ELCO Yards’ two large residential buildings. One of those, with around 250 apartments, will stand along El Camino Real at Maple Street.
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In early 2023, the Redwood City Council approved a 130-unit for-rent apartment development slated to replace three adjacent retail spaces (including Happy Donuts and The Record Man) on El Camino Real directly across from Huxley Apartments. I have yet to see signs that this project is going ahead — it doesn’t appear that the developer has applied for building permits — but if it does, one day El Camino will sport a large six-story apartment building in place of those three existing retail spaces.
On April 14, the Redwood City Council is tentatively scheduled to hold an Senate Bill 423 meeting (a streamlined approval meeting for certain affordable housing projects) in regards to an affordable housing project that would replace American Legion Post 105’s current building at 651 El Camino Real (midway between Hopkins and Brewster avenues). The new six-story building would contain four stories of affordable housing atop a two-story podium. That concrete podium would contain a parking garage, a large community hall (with kitchen) that can be used for American Legion gatherings and for city or community events, offices for veteran support services and administrative offices for Post 105. Two weeks after that, the council is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing on the six-story, 305,000-square-foot office building (plus a roughly 6,500-square foot teen center) planned for the site across El Camino Real from Sequoia High School where AutoZone and two small restaurant buildings stand today.
Redwood City is rapidly updating its stretch of El Camino Real, replacing a great many old, tired retail and restaurant buildings with large, modern offices and multifamily residential buildings. Many will lament the loss, but these new buildings will attract thousands of new residents and workers, helping to create a “new” Redwood City that they, and others, will likely come to love.
Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.
Redwood City is always front in claiming to approve "affordable housing", but always last in creating "affordable transportation". In fact council member and SamTrans Board member Jeff Gee seems to be doing a lot to harm that particular agency. For the last 8 years, Redwood City has added almost no useful bike lanes and bus lanes or adding bus shelters has never been really discussed at city hall.
And while other communities built out Hetch Hetchy and similar easements with small little neighborhood parks, Redwood City is making a point to completely blocking them off instead of using them as Safe Routes to School or as small neighborhood green spaces. That is when Developers (like Jeff Gee) are running the show and the city never catches up on their other duties - which btw. are also outlined in the same 2010 General Plan. That is bad execution - so typical for San Mateo Democrats and their "corporate interest".
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Redwood City is always front in claiming to approve "affordable housing", but always last in creating "affordable transportation". In fact council member and SamTrans Board member Jeff Gee seems to be doing a lot to harm that particular agency. For the last 8 years, Redwood City has added almost no useful bike lanes and bus lanes or adding bus shelters has never been really discussed at city hall.
And while other communities built out Hetch Hetchy and similar easements with small little neighborhood parks, Redwood City is making a point to completely blocking them off instead of using them as Safe Routes to School or as small neighborhood green spaces. That is when Developers (like Jeff Gee) are running the show and the city never catches up on their other duties - which btw. are also outlined in the same 2010 General Plan. That is bad execution - so typical for San Mateo Democrats and their "corporate interest".
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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.