Out by the Bay

Sadly, the Century Park 12 Theatres closed in late 2008. Since then, the property has sat largely unused — except for the parking area being leased to the adjacent automobile dealerships as storage for excess inventory and, once, for a portion of the parking lot having been used as an elaborate pumpkin patch in the run-up to Halloween. Well before the theaters closed, Syufy Enterprises — who owns the property and who had built and operated not only the Century Park 12 Theatres but also the site’s earlier Redwood Drive-In Theatres — had begun negotiating with Redwood City, hoping to obtain permission to redevelop the property. Now, more than 20 years after those negotiations first began, development seems well and truly underway.

Some months ago, a flurry of work took place on the site. That effort focused on tearing down the theaters, ripping up the huge asphalt parking lot and elevating the site to protect it from sea-level rise. But the heavy equipment then disappeared, and the empty lot sat for a time with little or no visible activity. Today, the former theater site out by the Bay is once again a bustling place — with tractors, backhoes and soil drills working the soil. Crews appear to be in the early stages of creating footings that will underpin the three large buildings that, after a couple of years of construction, will one day grace the site.

Syufy Enterprises’ original proposal, made around 2003, was for 600 for-rent apartments and the recreational facilities that would typically go with such — plus roughly 8,300 square feet of retail space along East Bayshore Road. What is now under construction is a clear evolution of that first formal proposal: two five-story buildings containing a total of 480 for-rent apartments and internal parking for approximately 750 vehicles, plus a third building, closer to East Bayshore, housing a nearly 100,000-square-foot Villa Sport athletic club and spa. The apartment buildings will have the amenities one would expect for residents and their guests — including a pool and whirlpool spa, a fitness center, barbecue areas, a clubhouse and lounges. The Villa Sport club, on the other hand, will be open to the public and will contain four pools (two indoor and two outdoor), six separate exercise studios, an abundance of exercise equipment, an “NBA regulation” basketball court, a day spa, indoor and outdoor cafés and a large children’s area featuring indoor and outdoor play areas, art studios, dance studios, reading areas and a sport court.

For many, this new development will be a welcome addition to Redwood City, and after watching the old theater buildings deteriorate for years, I’m mostly on board. I’m particularly pleased that 85 of the 480 new apartments will be affordable and that the Villa Sport club will contain so many family-friendly elements. However, that part of Redwood City contains no shops or restaurants — with the closest requiring a walk beneath Highway 101 via the Main Street underpass. Plus, there is no transit serving that part of the Bair Island neighborhood. My main concern, though, remains the bottleneck through which vehicles enter and exit the area. East Bayshore Road — which becomes Whipple Avenue at Highway 101 — is the only way for vehicles to get in or out, and it is just one lane in each direction. In the event of a calamity, that’s how emergency vehicles will come in — and how drivers evacuating the nearly 1,200 homes in the area (counting Syufy Enterprises’ new development, but not counting the Marriott hotel’s 177 rooms or the potentially hundreds of people using the athletic club) will get out. Redwood City must complete the Blomquist Extension, which would connect Blomquist Street to East Bayshore Road and give everyone another way in and out of the area.

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.