I need to begin with a mea culpa: in last week’s post I mentioned that food service to seniors would begin at the new Veterans Memorial Building/Senior Center last Wednesday, with other activities beginning two days later, on Friday May 8. I was correct about the food service — lunches are currently being served there — but I misremembered what the signs posted on the building’s doors said, and didn’t double-check them when I wrote that post. Senior classes and programs are scheduled to be moved over from the old VMSC building on June 8, not on May 8. I’ve corrected last week’s post, but for anyone who was confused, my apologies.

For pretty much all of the years I’ve lived in Redwood City (we moved here in 1989), I’ve been looking at and wondering about the old house at 1217 Jefferson Avenue, just one parcel up from El Camino Real and across from Whole Foods:

Apparently it was built in 1905 or so, and was actively lived in for much of its life. However, for many years now it has apparently been unused and is now really showing its age. I believe it was once used as storage for one or more of the businesses next door on the El Camino Real side (today’s Vitamin Shoppe, although I don’t think they ever used this building). Finally, though, it is being revitalized. Based on the permits filed for the property, it appears that it is being turned back into a single-family home. Hopefully there will be an open house; I’d love to see the inside.

The five-unit townhouse project at 239 Vera Ave. is having a lot of work done to the (very limited) grounds around the building; with any luck it won’t be too much longer before these units come onto the market:

Over at ELCO Yards, building C, at 1300 Main St., is having its interior built out, presumably for a tenant. I had predicted that the initial ELCO Yards tenant (connected to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) would be in the two buildings across Main Street, but I may have been wrong about that; they may be moving into this building instead.

In any case, getting the first tenant in should help in obtaining tenants for the other three buildings (presuming that this building is entirely leased, which may or may not be the case). When I walked through ELCO Yards this week, I saw that the preschool was actively installing furniture and such, getting ready for their upcoming opening.

Down in North Fair Oaks, just a block off Middlefield Road, the 86-unit affordable housing project underway along San Mateo Avenue — Monarch at Redwood — appears to have pretty much topped out:

This six-story building will contain 86 studio apartments, 29 one-bedroom units, and five each of two- and three-bedroom apartments. An internal parking garage will have room for 24 vehicles; there will also be room for 67 bicycles.

Hoover Park, at Woodside Road and Spring Street, is a busy place these days, at least from a construction perspective. Apart from the small bathroom building and about half of the building that used to contain the pool equipment, there is nothing left of the park these days:

But of course a new and improved version of the park is now well underway. Don’t expect to be able to access it before 2027, however.

That is about it for this week: although my walk took me to both the Hampton Inn hotel project at 690 Veterans and out the Syufy Site project (across the freeway, where the large apartment building and VillaSport fitness club are both underway), I have little new to report on either, other than that work continues. Hopefully next time the VillaSport club, at least, will show some progress from the limited vantage points I have available to me…

Redwood City is promoting two upcoming water-efficient landscape classes, both on Zoom. The first will take place on May 26, from 6:30 – 8 p.m., and will cover sustainable irrigation. “Learn how to minimize water usage in the landscape with the use of water-efficient irrigation equipment, technologies, rainwater harvesting, and water re-use.” Registration closes at 4 p.m. on the day of the class; sign up at https://bawsca.org/classes_2.php?id_evnt=608. The second class will take place on June 10, also from 6:30 – 8 p.m.; it will present water-efficient Mediterranean garden design. The description: “Need ideas to get started on your water efficient garden? A Mediterranean garden is a great choice for our climate. These gardens feature a blend of water efficient plants, rich colors, and a relaxed, rustic atmosphere. The use of gravel pathways, terracotta pots and stone features give your garden a classic Mediterranean feel.” Registration for this class also closes the day of the class, at 4 p.m.; sign up for this one at https://bawsca.org/classes_2.php?id_evnt=607.