For all of the large development projects underway in Redwood City right now (some of which I discussed in last week’s post), I of course also try to keep an eye on the much smaller projects taking place mostly in the city’s residential neighborhoods. I took two walks this week, one to check in on a number of projects in San Carlos, Belmont, and Redwood Shores; and one to look at a handful of smaller residential projects within Redwood City. I’m going to save the contents of my longer walk until next week, and focus this week primarily on the smaller projects I visited.
First up, there isn’t much to see there yet, but the small house at 147 King St. has been completely removed in preparation for another Thomas James Homes project. Knowing ahead of time that the small house that was there was not long for this world, I stopped by last week and took a photo for posterity’s sake:
(Note what I assume were roof samples along the front edge of the roof; it appears that TJ Homes may have been showing the new project’s buyer — more on that in a minute — options for the roofing material to be used on the new house that they’ll soon be constructing.
This week I again went by, and it is amazing how quickly — and, honestly, how neatly — they removed the old house:
And as for what the new one will look like, well, here is one of their renderings:
This will be a 2,848 square foot four bedroom, three bathroom home with a detached single-car garage in the rear of the property. Plans for the house show three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the laundry room upstairs. Downstairs will be the fourth bedroom and third bathroom, along with a den (on the front of the house; that window to the left in the rendering), a kitchen that is open to a good-sized dining room, and, along the rear of the house, a “great room.”
Interestingly, TJ Homes has already sold the yet-to-be-built house for a whopping $3.475 million. Note that TJ Homes paid less than half that for the original property: they seem to have bought it for $1.615 million last September.
Over on Iris Street (at 425 Iris), the large house under construction with an all-metal skeleton and clad with corrugated metal sheeting at long last looks something like a conventional house, having received an outer skin of yellow-painted siding and white trim:
This thing has been underway for years. The building permit was issued in late 2017, and by the time I first paid the site a visit, in October 2019, only a portion of the house’s all-metal structure was in place. It took until early 2021 for the structure to reach the point where it showed the extent of the entire house:
Work continues, though. Who knows when the house will be ready for occupancy? When it is, it’ll be a veritable fortress. And, as you can see, a large one: the building permit shows it as having 4,514 square feet of space (I’m not sure if that includes what appears to be an internal two-car garage).
Just next door, the little house that was there was torn down in late 2022, and in its place an attractive little duplex (435 Iris, 437 Iris) appears to have just been completed:
That duplex took about 18 months from start to finish, whereas its large next door neighbor just may clock in at a full five years.
Over on Vera Avenue, the five-unit townhouse project underway at 239 Vera is finally making good progress. The forms are being put in place for the building’s foundation (this project will consist of a single building standing perpendicular to the street divided into five townhouse-style condominiums):
Below Woodside Road, on Center Street, the seven-unit townhouse project I’ve reported on in the past is finally about to wrap up:
This project, amazingly enough, squeezed seven townhouses onto a 9,600-square-foot parcel that previously held a single-family home. As you can probably tell, it consists of two buildings separated by a common driveway. The building in the foreground contains four townhouses, all of which open out onto Center Street. The building farther back is divided into just three townhouses. Just to the left of the building in the foreground is a tire shop: this project is located on a block that lies along El Camino Real (the project, though, is located away from El Camino Real, on the corner of Center and Linden streets). As for the other building, it faces the two-story Budget Inn, which that itself sits out on El Camino Real. Between that building and the motel is a walkway that not only gives some separation but also provides access to the three townhouse entrances.
Along Woodside Road, after what appeared to be a brief quiet period — I’m guessing that it was waiting for a particular subcontractor to be available — the eight-unit townhouse project being built at 955 Woodside Rd. is once again making forward progress:
Note the scaffolding and the black paper covering the left-hand building (the two buildings that make up this development are arranged in an ‘L’ configuration); that one is nearly ready for stucco. The other building has started getting its black paper applied as well, and shouldn’t be too far behind.
Lastly, at least for this week’s home projects, we come to 1460 Kentfield Ave.:
Here the city is getting an attractive side-by-side duplex, replacing a run-down single-family home.
There are of course a number of other housing projects underway throughout Redwood City; these are just the ones I happened to see on this week’s walk through Redwood City’s central residential neighborhoods. And of course there are other projects, some of which are worth a quick note. For one, the project to install a permanent, moveable barrier at the south end of Theatre Way (across the street from the Box buildings) at long last appears to be about done:
And just before taking the above picture, I happened to have walked by the old Arya Steakhouse spot within the Century Theaters building. There the door was open a crack, and I could see work going on inside to turn it into Limón, a restaurant that will soon be serving Peruvian food:
This conversion has taken quite some time, and appears to still have a way to go, so no bets on when this place will open their doors to the public. Ditto with the old Spaghetti Factory location, which is slated to become Ocean Oyster Bar & Grill. Driving by, I saw that there, too, the door was open. It appeared that a drywall contractor was doing work inside (their truck was parked outside). Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures: I was driving and didn’t have time to stop. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that that project, too, which is also taking far longer than I would have guessed, will indeed eventually cross the finish line and provide downtown Redwood City with yet another high-quality dining experience. Add in The Baker Next Door (which also is making steady progress at their site on Main Street), and The Yard Coffeehouse (soon — I hope — to be operating at 1018 Main St.), and perhaps by summer Redwood City’s restaurant scene will receive a real shot in the arm. I for one am really looking forward to it…
Redwood City is conducting a very simple community survey, with the aim of learning how we residents prioritize various city services. Take the brief survey (which really just asks you to organize five priorities in order, from most to least important), and then spread the word so that the city gets as representative a sampling as possible. Simply go to www.RedwoodCity.org/Respond and click the large “Take the Survey” button (you may need to scroll down a bit to see it).
It’s almost time for Redwood City’s annual Spring Cleanup, which this year will be held on Saturday, May 4 from 8:30 a.m. (when a free breakfast will be provided) until noon (when a free lunch will be provided). Volunteers will be grouped into teams, given supplies, and sent off to target areas to mostly pick up trash and debris. I’ve participated in the past, and not only did I have fun, I felt good about directly helping our community. No need to register ahead of time: just show up on Saturday, May 4, by 8:30 a.m. at 1400 Broadway (Redwood City’s Public Works offices, just across the street from the Broadway Plaza project) and register in person.
Walking Redwood City 