Redwood City has a number of construction project underway right now, and three (well, two plus one that is just outside the city’s borders) are starting to lose their “wrappers” — the typically green or black high-density knitted polyethylene mesh netting that covers the scaffolding on a building project while the building’s exterior is being applied. The large apartment building underway at 557 E. Bayshore Rd. — where the Century Park 12 Theatres used to be — has had more than half of its wrappings removed, at least on the Bay side of the building:

The Bay side of the building is shaped somewhat like a capital ‘E’, with three “wings.” There the northern and central wings of the building are now fully exposed, while the southern wing is still under wraps. The side of the building facing Highway 101 is still completely covered.

Here is a more head-on view from out on Bair Island that better shows the central wing, which doesn’t protrude as far as the other two:

In that wing, the two lowest floors — where the windows are framed with gray bricks — contain the building’s double-height fitness center and rec room. Above that will be three floors worth of apartments. In front of it, outside, will be the building’s pool and spa.

Although not yet wrapped (it likely will soon be), the adjacent Villa Sport Athletic Club companion project is currently receiving a bright green protective layer that ultimately will be covered by a combination of stucco, metal panels, and wood. The side of the building facing the Bay is almost entirely covered by that green protective material:

When viewed from E. Bayshore Road, the building still shows most of its “bones”:

This building will soon begin receiving its exterior finishes, which likely will take place under wraps. Thus, I’ll no longer be able to monitor the building’s progress, most of which will then be taking place either inside or beneath the wraps. At least I should be able to get a glimpse of the construction of the two outdoor pools, which will be located between E. Bayshore Road and the Villa Sport building.

Back on the west side of Highway 101, the 91-room Hampton Inn under construction at the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Brewster Avenue is starting to lose its own wraps, exposing the building’s final exterior. The wraps on the Veterans Boulevard and Brewster Avenue sides of the building remain, but the side facing the neighboring residences are starting to show their true colors and finishes:

And in North Fair Oaks, along San Mateo Avenue, the five-story, 86-unit affordable housing project (Monarch @ Redwood) is just starting to peek out from beneath its curtains:

Because of its height — and because the one block between it and Middlefield Road is composed of houses and buildings that are almost all just  one story in height — this project is clearly visible simply by driving (or walking!) down Middlefield Road and looking left shortly before you get to Douglas Avenue.

The 178-unit apartment building underway at 112 Vera Ave. still has its protective curtains, but those, at least, are easy to see through:

The upper five floors of this seven-story building were rapidly assembled by craning in roughly 100 wood-framed modules that each consisted of two (or, in a small number of cases, one) apartments plus the intervening section of hallway. However, those upper five floors sit atop a two-story concrete “podium” that will also contain a number of apartments. Those two floors are now being built using conventional means, as you can most easily see if you approach the building from the alley that runs behind it:

Because the walls that will form the apartments and central hallways on these two floors do not need to act as structural members — the concrete floors and pillars are the primary structural elements of these two floors — here the walls are being formed using aluminum studs.

Just two blocks away, the four office buildings that form the bulk of the ELCO Yards project haven’t needed any exterior curtains for quite some time. Although those buildings are currently unoccupied (except for the childcare center, which is definitely showing signs of life), two of the buildings are clearly having their interiors fitted out for tenants. For instance, this week I clearly saw workers constructing interior walls on the uppermost floor of the building that sits on El Camino Real:

The ground floor of this particular building contains a large open “family friendly retail” space (facing El Camino Real, and currently sitting empty), the childcare center (largely facing Cedar Street, but with its entrance on Lathrop Street), some office space, and the lobby for the building’s offices (facing Lathrop Street). The building’s upper three floors contain the remainder of its office space.

Lots of similar work is also going on in the all-office building just across Lathrop Street (the main entrance to this building being on Main Street), but it is a bit harder to see; the building’s ground-floor windows have had a film applied to temporarily block sight of the work inside, and most of the upper-floor windows are proving tricky to see through. Most, but not all:

Of course, the clearest signs of work going on in this building are just outside, where trucks with materials for the inside build-out — such as this one delivering more of those aluminum studs that are commonly used in office buildings to form the interior walls — can be found:

As well, some of the building’s exterior windows have been temporary removed to allow large loads of metal studs and drywall to be lifted right to the floors where they will be needed:

This building, for sure, is going to be occupied by Biohub, the biological research arm of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. And I suspect, but can’t yet prove, that some or all of the previously-mentioned building is also being fitted out for Biohub and/or the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. We’ll know that for sure sometime in 2027, when the build-outs are complete and signs go up in front of the buildings.

Redwood City is seriously considering working with an affordable housing developer to construct a project on Library Lot B, the parking lot next to the downtown branch of the public library at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Middlefield Road. With Library Lot A — the 50-space lot on the other side of the library located at the corner of Middlefield Road and Main Street — already slated to (someday) be eliminated to make way for a new downtown public park, the loss of Lot B’s 98 spaces would be a significant issue. Fortunately, the city intents to make a public parking garage part of the proposed project. They are also considering whether such a building should also contain some amount of office space (that would likely be occupied by the city itself), and possibly even some retail.

On May 11 the Redwood City Council was presented with five possible scenarios. Those scenarios all envision a building either seven or eight stories tall, with public parking ranging from 74 to 100 spaces. The building could contain between 70 and 104 affordable apartments, with either no parking or up to 60 spaces dedicated to those residential units. All of the scenarios presented at that meeting envisioned some amount of city office space, and ground-floor retail is an option.

With such a wide variety of choices (plus the option to do nothing), the city is very interested in hearing from us, the members of the public. Accordingly, on Tuesday, October 6, from 5 – 7 p.m., the city will be holding a drop-in open house in the Downtown Library Community Room at 1044 Middlefield Road. A brief orientation will be given at 5 p.m. and then again at 6 p.m.; after each the public will be able to give in-person feedback. For those who cannot attend, there is the option to fill out an online survey — but note that those surveys must be submitted by October 20.

For anyone really interested in possible ferry service out of the Port of Redwood City, the draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) for the proposed ferry terminal project has been completed and is now available for public perusal and comment. Although you probably won’t want to read the entirety of the 840-page document, it helpfully includes both a relatively brief description of the project (pages ES-3 through ES-10) and a summary of the identified impacts and any possible mitigation measures for those that are significant (pages ES-27 through ES-29 cut to the chase).

The 45-day comment period for this EIR began on September 17, and ends at 5 p.m. on November 2, 2026. Email written responses to c-dsnaman@redwoodcityport.com, or mail them to:

Don Snaman, Project Manager
675 Seaport Boulevard
Redwood City, CA 94063

If you’d rather give your feedback in person, a public meeting/open house will be held on October 7, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners meeting room at the Port offices (675 Seaport Boulevard).  Written comments may optionally be submitted at that meeting.

Oktoberfest ends this Sunday, September 27. There are a few tickets left for Saturday and Sunday, so don’t delay if you are interested in joining in the festivities. For information and a link to purchase tickets, go here.

Portfest 2026 — “a free, family-friendly day of adventure, discovery, live music and fun at the Port of Redwood City” — is being held on Saturday, October 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is always a good time, and is a great way for those who have not yet explored one of Redwood City’s crown jewels — its port — to do so. There will be live music, food and drink (those two aren’t free, of course), water slides, the “bubble zone,” tours of the port itself and of the Marine Science Institute’s research vessel, and free kayaking, paddleboarding, and sailing. For more information (and links to reserve a spot for those activities that can only accommodate a limited number of participants), check out the Portfest 2026 web page.