I was out of town last week — I missed all the rain [3.64 inches in my backyard, if anyone is interested!] — and only got back Thursday midday. I needed to use my afternoon to write my weekly op-ed column for The Daily Journal, so that just left today, after our regular Meals on Wheels run, to scurry around town and see how things are going. Given the short amount of time, I had to drive — which in some ways doesn’t really save me that much time; having to find places to park in the areas where I needed to go can take time, and then having to walk from where I managed to find a space to where I could observe a project’s progress meant that I didn’t save nearly as much time as you might think. But I hit many of the usual highlights, starting with Broadway Village.

The three residential (with some retail, and a childcare center) buildings that currently make up the Broadway Village (nee Broadway Plaza) development are looking really good. You can tell they are really close by the fact that all of the signage has gone up on two of the three buildings, and that much of the construction fencing has come down. The Millton, the development’s affordable building, is the farthest along; I enjoyed a nice stroll along the sidewalk running on the Bay Road and Chestnut Street sides of the building, and everything looked neat and clean — as you’d expect of a building that is ready for occupancy but has yet to actually open its doors:

Here is a closeup of the building’s entrance, showing some of its signage:

That main entrance is on the Chestnut Street side of the building. Go around the corner, onto Bay Road, and you’ll find an entrance to the parking garage:

The orange-and-white building (as opposed to the rust-colored one at the left edge of the photo) in the above is the third of the three residential buildings; it is still being worked on. Thus, the construction fencing that, for now, also blocks the entrance to the parking garage (which is between The Millton and this third building, which will likely get its own name sometime in the future, but just may be considered part of The Colton, which is the large market-rate apartment building along Broadway). Note that the gates that restrict access to the building’s future residents are in place, and that there is a parking sign affixed to the orange building. As soon as residents begin taking up occupancy in The Millton (something that could happen as soon as this month) the construction fencing will be shifted to provide access to the garage, since this is the entrance/exit that residents of The Millton will largely be using.

I’ve written before about how this third apartment building lags the other two, as far as construction goes. On my previous visits the building still had scaffolding up against one of the building’s walls. Although that wall will need some patching once the external construction elevator is removed, the scaffolding is now completely gone. Other than the construction elevator and the patching its removal will require, the building’s exterior seems pretty much done now:

The orange safety barriers and the construction fencing remain along the Bay Road face of the building, though, since the sidewalks there have yet to be completed.

Moving around to Broadway, here is the Broadway and Chestnut Street end of The Colton, the large apartment building that stretches along Broadway:

The sidewalks are open here — no construction fencing! — and the landscapers are putting the finishing touches on the grand staircase that makes its way up to the residents-only common outdoor spaces for residents of The Colton and the building along Bay Road (The Millton has its own residents-only common outdoor space, with a its own access staircase on Chestnut Street).

On Broadway, the sidewalk in front of The Colton is half open: construction fencing blocks off the half down towards Woodside Road, where the traffic lane closest to the project still needs to be repaved. But note the parking signage, the “Broadway Village” sign at the far end of the building, and the free-standing orange sign at the Broadway entrance to the parking garage:

Here is the lobby entrance to The Colton, facing Broadway:

And here is the garage entrance, with the free-standing sign directing vehicles to parking for shops, residences, leasing, and the Child Care center:

Leaving Broadway Village and heading several blocks down Broadway, I came to Stanford Health Care’s nine-story medical office building project. It is starting to get some of its exterior finishes:

The brick-red tiles (which have been similarly placed on the back side, facing the freeway) are the same ones that were used for one of the Stanford non-academic campus, just across Broadway, helping this building to fit in visually with the buildings that make up that campus.

Some time ago I had noted that the Hyperion climbing gym, on Spring Street near Woodside Road, was literally raising the roof on an adjacent building to allow for taller climbing walls. The metal framing needed for that project was erected a month or two ago, but just today I noticed that one of the beams and its supporting post had fallen over — perhaps from the recent winds?

That’s going to be a messy repair…

While I was away, one of my readers let me know that the Wendy’s restaurant on El Camino Real at Oak Avenue had closed. And indeed, the signage is gone and the building has been rather thoroughly boarded up:

Even though this particular store had been remodeled not too long ago, it didn’t appear to be getting much business. Apparently Wendy’s has, like some other fast-food chains, decided to cut back on its lower-performing stores in order to improve its financials. Likely that is why this particular store closed. I did check with the city, but they didn’t seem to know anything more than I. Hopefully, though, this prime spot is snapped up soon…

The five-unit townhouse development at 239 Vera Ave. has suddenly shifted back into high gear, after several weeks of seeming inactivity. When I went by today, a bobcat was being used to clear out the side of the building where the unit front doors are located, and electricians were hard at work doing something with the main feeds in front of the building. All of that activity means trucks, and those trucks were making it hard to get a good image of the work, but here is an updated progress photo:

But, of course, the main attraction for me along Vera Avenue these days is the seven-story affordable housing building under construction at 112 Vera Ave. That building is making good progress:

It appears that the first two floors will be conventionally built, with concrete structural elements. I believe that the five upper floors will be made up of modular elements.

Out on E. Bayshore Road, the five-story apartment building that is under construction roughly where the Century Park 12 Theaters building used to stand is zooming along: on the bay side of the building, at least, three of the building’s five stories have largely been framed up (around other sides of the building, the framing is only up to the second story). The garage that will form the central core of the structure is rapidly disappearing behind the veritable forest of wood (and some steel) framing:

That’s going to do it for this week. Next week, weather permitting, I’ll be out doing my usual walks and taking longer, closer looks at these and other parts of Redwood City.