Ready for occupancy

My imaginings became real this week, when I walked down to check on the latest progress and saw that, for this first phase — which consists only of the project’s four large office buildings — not only has all of the construction fencing has been removed (with one very minor exception) but all of the streets have been reopened. Because work on the two residential buildings has yet to commence, those two parcels remain fenced off and the one-block section of Lathrop Street that divides the two remains closed to all forms of traffic. But in and around the office buildings, all of the construction equipment is gone and today the buildings stand proud, ready for occupancy. And thus, as I ended up doing twice this week, we members of the public are now able to freely explore the project’s streets and sidewalks, admire the public art, and peer into Redwood City’s four newest office buildings.

The experience of walking through ELCO Yards isn’t quite what I imagined, but primarily that’s because not only will the landscaping need time to mature — in the renderings the trees stand tall and the bushes are nicely filled out, which of course will take time — but also because the renderings show people, cyclists, and even a few cars on the streets. While I did indeed see a reasonable amount of vehicular traffic on Main Street, that being a major Redwood City through-road, other than two or three people in the adjacent Main Street Dog Agility Park I pretty much had the area to myself. Not only were the sidewalks empty, there was essentially no traffic on Lathrop, Beech or Cedar streets.

That picture will change once tenants start occupying the office buildings, and once people start taking advantage of ELCO Yard’s various public amenities. In February it was announced that the Chan Zuckerberg Institute for Advanced Biological Imaging would be occupying a significant part of this project (nearly half of the project’s total office space), so even if the remaining space has yet to be spoken for, a significant number of employees should soon be working in at least two of the new buildings and walking the area’s new sidewalks. And many of them will presumably be looking for places to eat lunch, enjoy after-work drinks, and/or eat dinner, so they will join members of the public at the project’s stand-alone restaurant building at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets — when it opens, that is.

When last I heard, Bob Lutticken, of Lutticken’s deli/restaurant in Menlo Park and former owner of Redwood City’s Main & Elm restaurant, had signed a letter of intent to open a restaurant in this great little building. However, that was back in late 2020, so we’ll have to see what actually transpires. Whoever ends up operating that new business, it’ll likely be popular. Not only is the building itself attractive, with a design meant to echo the Perry’s Fuel & Feed shed that used to occupy the spot, the lovely lawn in front and the picnic benches on the side patio should not only augment the restaurant’s interior dining area and but also make for a wonderful summer evening hang-out spot.

Except for the fact that it isn’t staffed (yet), the child care center on the Cedar Street side of the ELCO Yards building along El Camino Real looks ready to open its doors: The playground is fully equipped, and the lobby entrance looks all set to go. As for the large “family friendly” retail space in that same building, that remains empty at this point, but hopefully soon it’ll have a tenant — possibly a roller rink or bowling alley — that will draw from among a city populace begging for alternative community entertainment options.

Once the two apartment buildings, with their combined 501 apartments (over 100 of which will be affordable at various income levels), and the adjacent “creek walk” have been completed, day and night the area should be full of people walking its broad sidewalks and admiring its many pieces of public art. But even today, with no one in its offices, and without an operating restaurant or child care center, I find ELCO Yards to be a comfortable and peaceful place through which to walk, and a terrific addition to Redwood City.