Mixed use

In general, I really like the idea of putting residential units above ground-floor commercial spaces. This combination can provide the best of both worlds: an abundance of high-quality housing along with ground-floor businesses that appeal to passersby. Particularly in dense downtown areas, so-called active uses in ground-floor spaces give those living downtown reasons to leave their cars in the garage, as well as encouraging those driving downtown to park and walk. Contrast that with buildings serving only those living or working inside: They give passersby little or nothing of interest to look at, and thus discourage walking.

To be fair, one of the two buildings that piqued my interest this week was completed just last August, and perhaps cannot be expected to have ground floor tenants quite so soon. That building, at 560 El Camino Real, contains 24 condominiums atop two commercial spaces: one roughly 1,300 square feet in size and intended for a retailer, and one just over 1,400 square feet and configured for restaurant use. The second building, though, has been around for more than a year and a half but has yet to find an occupant for either of its two ground floor spaces. The 520 El Camino Real location has two stories of condominiums (nine in total) atop 1,730 total square feet of commercial space. Those commercial spaces have been on the market since May of 2024, and are being marketed as suitable for retail, office or medical uses.

Lest you think I’m picking on San Carlos, Redwood City has its share as well. For instance, the eight-story, 350-apartment building at 1405 El Camino Real — “Highwater” — has two retail spaces facing El Camino Real, with one 1,400 square feet in size, and the other 1,500. That building has been leasing since August of 2021 and has yet to find a tenant for either retail space.

There are several likely reasons that owners of mixed-used projects like these are having difficulties leasing their commercial spaces. One is location. Projects along busy El Camino Real — large stretches of which I can personally attest to having little appeal to a casual passerby — seem to have particular trouble. Contrast El Camino with more traditionally walkable streets, such as Laurel Street in San Carlos. There, you’ll find multiple mixed-use buildings with tenants in their ground-floor spaces, such as 1673 Laurel St. It sports six apartments on three floors atop a single commercial space. Since 2016, when the building was completed, its commercial space has been home to The Toss (a terrific lunchtime salad place). Or, look at Redwood City’s Main Street between Broadway and Middlefield Road, where you’ll find multiple buildings with a variety of tenants occupying spaces beneath residential units.

The configuration of a given commercial space can also cause trouble when trying to find a tenant. Many businesses have very specific size requirements, which may not match what a given building has available. And, unless a space has been built with the particular fittings needed for a commercial kitchen, the entire class of food service businesses needs to be removed from consideration (proper ventilation, for instance, can be very hard to add to a space without it, especially when there are other tenants above).

Lastly, I have to wonder just how eager some building owners are to lease out their commercial spaces. Highwater is probably an extreme example, and I’m just speculating here, but while I’m sure the owners wouldn’t mind the extra income, the building’s two commercial spaces together make up less than 1% of the building’s total rentable space. Thus, I have to wonder if the income those spaces would produce is worth making significant efforts to lease them out.

Mixed-use buildings with ground-floor commercial spaces have the potential to maintain, or even improve, the number of pedestrians walking through a portion of a city. But it takes time and effort to lease those spaces to appropriate tenants. Thus, I’m glad buildings like these keep getting built, even if the ground-floor spaces remain empty for some time.