The recent news of the Palisades fire (and the other fires that subsequently popped up at various points around Los Angeles County) has thrown me for a loop. I grew up in that very area — although we didn’t live in the Pacific Palisades we were close by, and I actually attended Palisades High School — and much of what I remember from my 19 years there is either gone, severely damaged, or being threatened (this last includes the house I grew up in). As I write this on Friday the situation appears to be improving slightly, although an incredible amount of damage has already been done, and regardless of how quickly the fires are finally put out the very nature of the area will be changed for years to come.

The current goings-on in LA right now reminded me of the fire that destroyed half of the Mercy Housing affordable housing project that had been underway at Redwood Junction, along Middlefield Road just south of the Redwood City border. Accordingly, I went by earlier today to check on the progress of that project, and was delighted to see that the one building that survived the fire unscathed is making great progress: it appears to be getting its exterior stucco applied right now.

As for the second building, which was pretty much fully framed at the time of the fire but was reduced to just its concrete podium level by that fire, I was delighted to see that it is once again reaching for the sky:

This second building, which will contain more than half of the complex’s 179 affordable apartments, was probably set back about a year. But as you can see it is once again on its way towards helping make a serious dent in our county’s affordable housing problem.

On the heels of the above project, Affirmed Housing, a San Diego-based developer of affordable housing, has applied to the county for a building permit. Their project, to be located on a North Fair Oaks parcel that faces San Mateo Avenue and spans the block from Douglas Avenue to Macarthur Avenue, would consist of a six-story building containing 86 affordable apartments. Of those 86 apartments, 47 would be studios, 29 would have one bedroom, five would have two bedrooms, and five would be three-bedroom units. Twenty-eight studios would be set aside for homeless families with significant health care issues, while eleven would be designated as Mental Health Services Act housing, and thus would reserved for homeless persons with behavioral health challenges. Finally, the rest of the building’s apartments would be for households earning no more than 60% of the county’s median income.

From San Mateo Avenue, the building would look something like this:

The ground floor would contain a single-level parking garage with 24 spots for motor vehicles and room for 67 bicycles. That level would also contain the building’s lobby, mail room, food pantry, and four of the building’s apartments. The second floor would include a number of apartments plus the building’s community room, offices for the property manager and a case manager, a laundry room, and a south-facing courtyard. Finally, the upper four floors would consist almost entirely of apartments, along with a trash room and utility spaces.

On the property today is a small office for a towing company (facing Macarthur Avenue), plus fenced areas containing vehicles and “miscellaneous material”:

The project parcel is located on a block that touches Middlefield Road, making it a relatively easy walk from this building out to shopping (including Costco), dining, and transit (in the form of a SamTrans bus). It is also just about a six-block walk to the Fair Oaks Health Center, and only about one block from the Fair Oaks Community Center. Although its neighboring parcels on the block house commercial ventures (mostly automobile-related), the other side of San Mateo Avenue from this parcel is the beginning of a large residential tract. Thus, this site appears not only appropriate for residential use, but very well located for an affordable housing project.

On the subject of housing, affordable or not, on my walk this week I noted that the large Broadway Plaza project building that faces onto Broadway has topped out:

And the third residential building in this project — the one along Bay Road — continues to make slow and steady progress:

The three residential buildings comprise “Phase 1” of the Broadway Plaza project (Phase 2 will be the three office buildings yet to be started at the Woodside Road end of the large parcel); signs indicate that Phase 1 should be completed in 2026. Perhaps that is correct, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this part of the project actually winds up late this year (the affordable apartment building facing Chestnut Street, at least, is well ahead of the others and could certainly be wrapped up early).

Getting away from housing, but sticking with large projects for a moment, I wandered through the ELCO Yards project this week (as I seem to do every week) and was fascinated to see the windows that are being installed on the Main Street side of building C, which stands at the corner of Main and Cedar:

I have to give major props to the project’s architect and its developer: each building has a number of unique design elements, and this building, which otherwise would have looked pretty run-of-the-mill, is going to really stand out thanks to these articulated windows.

Also on this project, at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets, the size and shape of the free-standing restaurant building is now clearly evident:

Recall that the intent is for this building to mimic the look and feel of the dilapidated metal “Perry Feeds” shed that once stood close to this spot.

Along Middlefield Road (but in Redwood City), I went by the Rise City Church sanctuary project, which appears to be zooming along:

On my walk I headed across the freeway and was interested to see that the small building that used to be part of Toyota 101 that, I thought, was being turned into a dog hotel, is apparently being occupied wholly or in part by AM Party Rentals. When I went by this week the rental company seemed to be moving in:

Back on our side of the freeway I walked along the Veterans Square shopping center (on Veterans Boulevard, at Maple Street), which, except for a single retail tenant — “Hoot” Judkins Furniture — is not really a shopping center at the moment. The sign out front still lists, along with “Hoot” Judkins, Dollar Deal (gone), Antiques Then & Now (gone), Party City (bankrupt, gone), Tuesday Morning (bankrupt, gone), and Pro Soccer (moved to San Carlos). “Hoot” Judkins sits in the middle of the long building, while between it and Maple Street the two retail spaces — which used to house Kohlweiss Auto Parts and Pro Soccer — have for some years now been home to the robotics company Dexterity Inc. (which has grown to take over the old Kmart building across Maple Street as well). To the right of “Hoot” Judkins, the Dollar Deal space has also been leased by Dexterity, while the Party City space to the right of that still may have some fixtures and such (but the business is gone, of course). Finally, the Tuesday Morning space at the very end currently sits empty. But very recently some money has been put into sprucing up the entire center, unleased spaces and all:

I’m glad to see this center looking so nice, but a bit saddened at the loss of so many retailers. I’ve patronized “Hoot” Judkins in the past, though, and would pay them a visit if I’m ever again in the market for wooden furniture (and other furniture; I’ve shopped there for reclining chairs in the past), so there’s that. And if Dexterity is producing taxes for the city (I presume they do), that’s good too. But I should note that there is a large housing project proposed for this site, one that is still early in the city’s approval process, as far as I know. Assuming that project is still going ahead, it’ll be years before actual on-site work gets underway, so I appreciate that this center is being kept nice-looking in the interim. And perhaps those rightmost two retail spaces will get new retail tenants. One can only hope…

Downtown, the soon-to-be Ocean Oyster Bar & Grill restaurant has finally had its Broadway facade finished up, with the last bits of trim and the final set of window walls having been installed:

Still no word on when it’s going to open, but this latest activity is a really good sign.

Along El Camino Real, AutoZone’s upcoming location (they’re moving just a couple of blocks down the street, from their current location at 901 El Camino Real to the old Bed, Bath & Beyond space at El Camino Real and Redwood Avenue) now has its shelves and internal signage. It appears to be waiting patiently for what I presume will be a move of the existing store’s stock to this new space:

Down at Woodside Road and Central Avenue, the transformation of the Gold Star Market into Redwood City’s sixth cannabis retailer seems complete, except for the merchandise:

Finally, in an earlier post I said I’d say no more about the Woodside Road McDonalds restaurant unless I discovered whether the new restaurant is truly just a drive-thru. Well, I went by this week and although it has a front door, you can’t go in. However, it does appear that you can order food without going through the drive-thru: the upper half of the building’s front door is a sliding window, and there is a doorbell that you are instructed to “Ring Bell For Service!”

Although I didn’t actually try it, it does seem pretty clear that you can park in their parking lot (if you are driving; there is also a rack to which you can lock a bike) and walk up to the front window and place your order. I did peek inside and what looks like a shake machine is right up against the front glass of the building, so clearly customers are not meant to enter.

That’ll do it for this week. Stay safe and give some thought to our southern California neighbors who are suffering through a true disaster. I’ll be looking for ways to help, and I’ll try to pass on what I find. If any of you have any suggestions, please include them in the comments.