Every project goes through a number of checkpoints, from start to finish. The Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center, although not yet ready to be opened to the public, really does seem to be getting close. From the outside the building itself looks done, and in fact when I went by this week the windows were getting washed — which surely is a sign that we are nearly there. The landscaping, though, still needs work:

Most likely some work is still going on inside the building as well. And before anyone asks, I don’t have a new projected completion date for this project.

While that building slowly winds its way to its final checkpoint — opening its doors to the public — just next door the project to replace the synthetic turf on Mitchell Field has reached a major checkpoint: the old turf has been taken up, and infield drainage piping beneath the field is being installed:

According to the sign affixed to the fence, this project is due to be completed in September.

Across Highway 101, Docktown Marina has reached its final checkpoint: the last resident has left (just one boarded-up floating home still remains), the parking lot has been fenced off, and, according to a notice affixed to that fencing, the property has been “restored” to the landowner: the folks behind the 1548 Maple St. townhouse project.

When (or if) the 131-unit townhouse project that is slated for this part of Redwood City will finally reach a major checkpoint of its own and get underway, I have no idea. It appears that building permits have yet to be issued, but the developer still has until mid-2026 to begin work on this roughly eight-acre parcel along Redwood Creek.

Along with the closure of Docktown, the walking/cycling path that used to lead through the middle of the parcel has once again been re-routed to the perimeter: the path now runs right alongside Highway 101 from the “bridge to nowhere” (which crosses Redwood Creek just east of the freeway) to where Maple Street terminates pretty much up against the freeway. Here is what it looks like from the Maple Street end:

If you are inclined to walk along it, though, I should warn you that at least when I was there on Tuesday, there were three or four tent camps along the side, close to the bridge:

They didn’t interfere with me in any way — I never even saw any of the residents — but know that the camps may still be there. For what its worth, I imagine that they won’t be there for long (if they are even still there as I write this), given how much more aggressive Redwood City and the county have been lately about working with folks like these.

The path meets Maple Street right next to the Redwood City Pump Station, which reached its final milestone some months ago: Redwood City’s pump station has been completely rebuilt as a part of a large project to rework much of the infrastructure that transfers wastewater from Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, and Belmont out to the Silicon Valley Clean Water processing facility at the end of Radio Road in Redwood Shores. Here is what Redwood City’s pump station looks like these days:

Not very exciting, I know, but this little facility is extremely important to the day-to-day comfort of all Redwood City residents.

Past the other end of the path, and across the Bridge to Nowhere, I once again spent some time watching the Syufy Site project, which will ultimately produce two new apartment buildings (totaling 480 apartments, 85 of which will be affordable) plus a nearly 100,000-square-foot “VillaSport” fitness club on the former site of Redwood City’s Century Park 12 Theatres. These days the site is positively abuzz with activity, most of that being focused on the first of the two apartment buildings:

Back on the other side of the freeway, the site of the future seven-story fully affordable apartment building that is to be built at 112 Vera Ave. was actively being cleared as I went by on Tuesday:

This site, which is just one door down from El Camino Real (behind Firestone Complete Auto Care), until recently housed five half-built side-by-side duplexes:

Construction on these duplexes halted quite some time ago, most likely because the project owner decided to take advantage of some recent changes in California law that enabled them to build a high-rise with a much greater number of affordable apartments regardless of nearly all objections the city might have. Thus, this project, which is much higher than the city would normally allow on this parcel. And a project that, for all of its 178 apartments (mostly one-bedroom units, with a few studios), has no on-site tenant parking. In any case, demolition of the existing buildings means that this project has crossed a major checkpoint, and apparently is going full-steam ahead.

Nearby, over at the corner of Main and Chestnut streets, the construction fencing around the stand-alone restaurant building that is part of the ELCO Yards project has come down — another checkpoint crossed! — allowing me to walk right up to the building and get some interior photos, like this one:

Outside, close to the corner of Main and Chestnut streets, there are some great tables and benches, presumably for outdoor restaurant seating:

And note that thing temporarily covered in orange plastic mesh: I’m guessing that it marks the site of a piece of public art.

Directly in front of the restaurant there is a large area I presume will be covered with lawn (it is full of soil that has been smoothed flat, and is dotted with sprinklers). In front of that lawn I found these:

Ping-pong tables! These things seem to be made entirely from metal (including the tops; that’s what they felt like, anyway) and are bolted to the ground, so they shouldn’t be going anywhere. Together with the lawn space, the string lights (which you can see in the above photo, over the lawn area) and the restaurant itself, this is going to be an attractive place to be on warm Redwood City summer evenings. I’m sure you’ll find me there from time to time…

The 91-room hotel project underway on the former site of a Shell gasoline station at the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Brewster Avenue has reached a checkpoint of its own: it has achieved its final height (although the top floor is not entirely framed up as yet):

As you can see, the top story of this four-story building is mostly in place. The flat roof (which will include a 1,000-square-foot outdoor patio atop the section that juts out where the orange barrier down at street level is located) has yet to be put on, of course, and the building otherwise still has a long way to go, but “topping out” is a major checkpoint for any building project. As a reminder, all of this hotel’s 91 rooms will be located in the upper three wood-framed stories; the ground floor (which is all concrete) will contain the hotel’s internal parking garage, the lobby, and various other rooms needed to support the hotel’s operation.

The checkpoint that all projects want to reach, of course, is the final one, and the somewhat mysterious project that was going on in the parking lot of MidPen Housing’s 95-unit Shores Landing senior supportive housing community at the southern end of Twin Dolphin Drive has finally reached theirs: the construction fences are down, and today I was able to wander through the lovely outdoor space that has been created for the building’s many residents:

I had been led to believe that this might be an outdoor dog park for those residents who have dogs, and indeed that bit of green lawn at the end, which is surrounded by some lovely landscaping, just might be for those dogs:

But the gated area enclosed by the metal fence that I thought might be a small dog park is instead going to be a community garden!

I presume that raised beds will soon be added. There is already a hose bibb at the near end of the area, and the shade structure at the far end already includes a bench that I’m guessing can be used for potting and such. Undoubtedly there are a number of residents whose lives will be greatly enhanced by having their own dedicated plot of earth in this community garden, and of course everyone will benefit from the beauty of the many plants that will soon be growing there. This, along with the community center that was also added to the property as part of this project, should go a long way towards making this Project Homekey project a long-term success, and a model for other projects throughout the state.

Finally, I’d been wondering about the street closure and construction vehicles that were recently blocking Winslow Street adjacent to the various County Center buildings; I had assumed that they were doing some further work on the County Sheriff’s Office that was recently completed in a portion of the Maguire Correctional Facility. Perhaps that is indeed a part of what they were there for, but when the equipment was taken away and the street was reopened, we were greeted by this lovely sight:

That bridge — which connects the Correctional Facility (on the left) with the County Hall of Justice (on the right) — has of course been there for many years, but it finally seems to have occurred to someone that the bridge represented a great place for a bit of public art. And this cosmic scene is the result (the same image has been applied to the backside). What a great idea! It never crossed my mind to suggest it as a location for a new mural, so I’m really glad someone else thought of it.

Every project goes through a series of checkpoints, from beginning to end. As has been typical for Redwood City over the last dozen years or so, there continue to be many such projects big and small working their way through those checkpoints. And a number of small signs seem to be indicating that the number of such projects may be ramping back up over the next couple of years…