The recent activity on the site of the long-closed Century Park 12 Theaters, at 557 E. Bayshore Rd., is going to be followed by a brief pause, after which further work will likely commence. The demolition of the majority of the site’s large surface parking lot was governed by one permit (which was issued on May 16), while a separate permit — which has yet to be issued — enables demolition of the 12-screen multi-domed theater building itself. That second permit was actually applied for well before the parking lot permit, but apparently won’t be granted until September 1 at the earliest. Although I have no idea why the specified delay was put in place, I wouldn’t be surprised if the permit is issued on that date, with demolition occurring rather quickly thereafter. Then, the waiting will begin for the issuing of the permits enabling construction of the massive housing and fitness center project that is slated to take the place of the defunct theater complex.

The Century Park 12 Theaters closed in 2008, but I believe that the owner/operator of the complex — Syufy Enterprises — had been having informal talks with the city for years before that to gain approval to redevelop the 14.36-acre site. Whether or not that is true, upon closure of the theaters they began submitting more formal proposals to the city, proposals that the city showed little interest in until late 2022, when the city’s need for more housing seemed to mesh with Syufy’s then-proposed 480 apartments and a large fitness club. Thus, on December 13, 2022, the Redwood City Planning Commission finally gave the green light to SyRES Properties (the name of the residential development arm of what Syufy Enterprises morphed into), enabling the project to go ahead (once all of the necessary permits have been issued, of course).

Given that the recent activity seems to indicate that the so-called “Syufy Site” project really is going ahead, it finally seems time to provide a somewhat thorough introduction to what is to be constructed at 557 E. Bayshore Rd.

The site is sandwiched between automobile dealerships just east of Highway 101, and borders on Inner Bair Island. The developer intends to make good use of the site’s “waterfront” (i.e., Bair Island) frontage by placing the two large five-story buildings that will in total contain 480 apartments along that end of the property. Not only does that placement enable many of the apartments to have lovely unobstructed views of the island and the Bay waters that at inundate much of it during high tides, it guarantees that those views will remain unobstructed for the foreseeable future: Bair Island is part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and thus should remain undeveloped. Locating those buildings as far as possible from Highway 101 should also lessen the sounds of freeway traffic somewhat, reducing the amount of sound-deadening materials that will have to be used, particularly on the western side of the buildings.

On the flip side, the large (nearly 100,000 square foot) “Villasport” athletic club will be located out close to Highway 101. Freeway noises are less of an issue for a fitness facility, and lovely views of the wildlife refuge are just not that important.

Here is the basic layout planned for the site:

[click the image for a version you can zoom in on]

For orientation, E. Bayshore Road and Highway 101 run along the left edge of the image, while Bair Island is located just off the right edge.

As you can see, the three buildings will occupy the majority of the site. Parking for residents of the two apartment buildings will be located in two multi-story parking garages that will form the core of the two residential buildings: they will be pretty much surrounded by apartments, and thus will not be visible to those walking along the trails to the east of the development or to those driving by. There will also be a fair amount of surface parking, but that will be primarily for those enjoying the facilities provided by the Villasport fitness club. I should note that a small number of those surface parking spaces (seven) will be set aside for those simply wanting to explore the shoreline via the new Bay Trail connection that the project will include.

Building A (towards the top of the rendering) will contain 222 apartments that will range in size from 510-square-foot studios (60 of the apartments) to two-bedroom, two-bathroom units as large as 1,348 square feet (55 of the units in this building will have two bedrooms; the remaining 107 will be one-bedroom, one-bath units). As for building B, it will contain 258 apartments. 54 of those will be studios, 120 will be one-bedroom units, and the remaining 84 apartments will have two bedrooms and two full bathrooms.

Although most of the units will be rented at “market rate,” 80 of them will be leased at affordable rates for folks earning at a range of specified income levels (Very Low, Low, and Moderate). See this web page for the income limits that are currently applicable to rentals at each of those levels.

From the layout you can see that building A will have a pool that I’m sure will be open to residents of both buildings. Residents will also have access to a residents-only spa, club room, barbecue area and fitness facility.

From somewhere over Bair Island, building A and its pool should look like this:

Building B will of course look similar (but minus the pool); here is a rendering showing a closer view of that building, also from the Bair Island side of the property:

In both of these, note the trail that will run in front of the residential buildings and adjacent to the wildlife refuge. Although located on the development’s private property, that trail will be open to the public. On the north end, it should connect to a similar trail that would be built as part of the 56-unit for-sale townhouse project currently in the works for the neighboring site at 505 E. Bayshore Rd. There will be multiple ways to access this trail: in addition to coming at it from one of the adjoining properties, there will be a couple of pathways leading from E. Bayshore Road out to the trail. The largest of these will be what the developer is calling “the paseo”; it runs alongside the Villasport building and between the two apartment buildings. From the trail, that paseo should look something like this:

As you can see, the Villasport athletic club (“and spa”) — which will be open to the public, I should note — although large in terms of square feet, will only be two stories tall. It will be full of amenities, however. It’ll have two outdoor pools and an outdoor café located between the club building and E. Bayshore Road. Inside the building, patrons will find two additional swimming pools; a large gym with a host of workout equipment; a regulation basketball court; exercise studios; a day spa with whirlpools, saunas and steam rooms; locker rooms; and a large indoor café. And on the end of the building nearest the apartments there will be a good-sized indoor/outdoor play area for children, with childcare and programs and camps available for kids.

Although I remain concerned about the traffic issues that will undoubtedly arise when so many new housing units are added to the Bair Island neighborhood — an area that currently is only accessible via a single street east of Highway 101 — hopefully the city will finally replace the “Bridge to Nowhere” over Redwood Creek with a proper one that will connect Blomquist Street with E. Bayshore Road and thereby give neighborhood residents a second means of entrance and exit (that project has been in the planning phase for a long time, but I don’t believe the necessary funds to actually construct it have yet been identified). Beyond that issue, the complex looks nice, and the additional housing stock it will bring to the city will go a long way towards Redwood City meeting its stated goals. As for the Villasport athletic club, it, too, looks terrific. Not being an expert in the field I cannot comment on whether there is sufficient demand for such a place given the many gyms and fitness facilities that have recently popped up around Redwood City, but I have to believe that the Syufy folks have a good handle on that market, having built several such facilities elsewhere.

Changing gears, my wife and I, along with another couple, finally had the chance to dine at Hurrica, Redwood City’s new waterside restaurant out at Westpoint Harbor. I’m happy to report that we had a lovely time. The food was great (albeit a tad pricey), as was the service. And the ambiance cannot be beat; being located adjacent to Westpoint Harbor at the end of Seaport Boulevard (just southeast of the Pacific Shores office complex) there are lovely views of the water and the many yachts moored in the marina:

The interior decor is quite lovely. We particularly enjoyed the large tank that divides the bar area from the main dining room; it is full of small jellyfish that are constantly wafting their way around the tank. We sat inside, but there is plenty of outdoor seating as well, so if you enjoy dining al fresco, you can do that.

Hurrica is located on the ground floor of a two-story building; the upper floor is, I believe, not open to the public but is reserved for those who are members of the Westpoint Marina (and, presumably their guests). Although Hurrica’s prices are a bit higher than most Redwood City restaurants, that doesn’t seem to be deterring folks. We were there on a Monday night (yes, this is one of the rare Redwood City restaurants that is open on Mondays!) and although there were empty tables when we first arrived (somewhat early; around 6 p.m.), by the time we left, the main dining room was pretty much full, and all of the outdoor tables seemed to be taken. Accordingly, I highly recommend making a reservation in advance.

Hurrica, being one of Redwood City’s nicer restaurants, seems to be a great place for a special occasion. Personally, I’m looking forward to going back. I just have to decide what that special occasion might be…