Thanks to the rain, and to a couple of personal items that took more of my time this week than I had anticipated, I was only able to make a cursory survey of the city this week. So this week’s post will be a bit shorter than usual. Which will hopefully give some of you time to fill out your ballots and turn them in! From what I’ve heard, voter turnout (in the form of mail-in or dropped-off ballots) is incredibly low in San Mateo County. Yes, it isn’t the most exciting of elections, but then again it isn’t that difficult of a ballot to fill out, either. My ballot was primarily full of people seeking various offices, but there was also one bond measure. And given that we taxpayers ultimately end up footing the bill for those bonds, I for one always consider them carefully and I always make sure my voice is heard via my vote.

As for turning in your ballot, you can either just drop it in the mail (must be postmarked by March 5), or you can place it in one of the many drop boxes intended just for that purpose scattered around the area (presumably, by next Tuesday, March 5). In Redwood City, I noted one in front of City Hall (directly across from the main library), one at Red Morton Park (in the parking lot of the Community Activities Building, at 1400 Roosevelt Ave.), and one on Middlefield Road at the County Center:

I actually dropped mine into the drop box at Red Morton Park; I was able to drive right up to it and insert my ballot without having to even get out of my car. Note that the three drop boxes I just mentioned are just a few of those scattered throughout the county; they can be found along the coast (from Pescadero to Daly City) and in pretty much every city within the county, all the way down to East Palo Alto (and including ones in various unincorporated areas of the county, of course). I was sure that there was at least one in Redwood Shores, and sure enough, I looked on the county’s Vote Center and Ballot Box Drop Lookup webpage and indeed there is a drop box at 101 Twin Dolphin Dr. That box is inside the Redwood City Office of Education, though, so know that you can only drop ballots off there when the building is open.

Finally, for those who still like to do things old-school, that previously mentioned webpage also shows a number of Vote Centers where you can register to vote, vote in person, request a replacement ballot, or simply turn in the ballot you filled out ahead of time. So there’s really not much of an excuse not to participate in this and, frankly, every other election.

Enough preaching. This week I was thrilled to see that the county’s COB 3 office building project, underway at 500 Marshall St. (between Hamilton Street and Middlefield Road) has finally reached the landscaping stage. That means we are very, very near to the end of this lengthy, but interesting project. I was particularly pleased to see that the work crews are installing some fairly large, fairly mature trees:

While I was there I briefly watched the workers assembling a number of round pre-cast concrete planters on the Marshall Street end of the building:

I walked around down the now-abandoned section of Hamilton Street that runs between the County Superior Court building and this new one, and saw that the county has constructed a large bioswale along that side of the building to capture and filter stormwater runoff:

Note the rolls of purple tubing: all of this landscaping will be irrigated using recycled water. (I’m not sure that the recycled water pipes have been extended to the County Center as yet. They may have been, but if not, until they are these purple pipes will carry potable water. Once the city’s ever-growing system of recycled water lines has been extended to this building, however, the building will be hooked up and will no longer be using relatively scarce drinkable water simply to irrigate the landscaping. Or to flush the toilets, for that matter.)

Between the two buildings, where a block of Hamilton Street once ran, there will be a wide walkway (that I’m guessing can handle emergency vehicles in the unlikely event they are needed) with at least a few mature trees. I’m looking forward to strolling along there once it’s done:

In the back, between the new office building and 555 County Center (where I go each year to pay my property taxes in person) it appears that there’ll be a number of square planters, at least some with built-in seating:

Finally, I noted that this area is going to use some rather modern light fixtures to keep things safe at night:

I suspect that the whole area is going to be rather pretty in the evenings.

Since I was in the area, I wandered through the nearby part of downtown and checked in on a couple of restaurant projects. We have a handful of them that have been in the works for quite some time, and seemed to have stalled. But I looked carefully, and at least something is going on in most if not all of them. For instance, I saw construction lights inside the Old Spaghetti Factory space (at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Broadway), and as I approached the front door opened and someone came out. So although the project to turn this space into Ocean Oyster Bar & Grill is moving very, very slowly, I’m optimistic that it hasn’t halted altogether.

Not far away, I continue to see (and, this week, hear) evidence of work underway to transform the old Arya restaurant space (at the end of Theatre Way, where it intersects with Winslow Street) into Limón Restaurante Peruano. As I was walking over there, I noted that the work to install the moving bollard system at that end of Theatre Way also continues to make glacial progress (this project, at least, is likely affected by the rain):

I can’t recall whether I’ve mentioned that the old Dragon Theater space at 2120 Broadway is being remodeled and turned into a restaurant serving Indian cuisine?

Called Brundavan Indian Cuisine, I suspect that it’ll be a second outlet for this place in Santa Clara.

While paying our weekly visit to The Baker Next Door (during my wife and my weekly Meals on Wheels run), I was able to peek in to their future permanent space, at 851 Main St. They, definitely are making progress:

As a reminder, Brian and Jenna, the two people behind this new venture, sell bread, cookies, and other really great baked goods (see their product menu, here) from their green tent in front of (and one door down from) their future space on Main Street. They are there nearly every Friday from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., although they pack up and head home when they sell out, so you may not see them there at 1 p.m. My wife and I (and now, a bunch of our friends) are big fans: we find their product to be excellent. In particular, we find ourselves buying a loaf of bread or two nearly every week.

Out on Broadway, close to El Camino Real, based on their new sign The Hub RWC seems to have made formal their transition from a “cafe and shared workspace during the day/live entertainment, bar and venue for hire at night” into what is pretty much a full-time event venue:

According to their website they hope to return at least partly to a more traditional format at sometime in the future, but for now, if you are looking for a space to host an event, do consider renting their space (see their website for contact information). According to The Hub’s website, they “have a capacity in excess of 200 across two floors of our 1930’s character brick building, plus a large outdoor patio area. Our dine in menu is expanding and we also offer in-house catering for events.” I should also note that they host a number of regular events open to the public; check their calendar for ones that might interest you.

Just down El Camino Real, at the corner of El Camino and Winklebleck Street (just one block south of Broadway) the on-again, off-again project to turn the old Signarama building into a restaurant of some sort might finally be wrapping up. Although there is still paper in the windows, meaning that I cannot check on the progress in there, the outside of the building, and the parking lot and landscaping, finally looks about done:

If you look closely you can see ceiling lights on inside, which I take to be a good sign.

These restaurants, and others, should be great additions to Redwood City’s already rather robust restaurant scene. Hopefully they’ll open soon; I for one am looking forward to trying them out.