Boy, it seems like I can’t even take a simple vacation without things happening. The announced closure of the Barnes & Noble in Sequoia Station was bad enough, but then I learn that the Jack in the Box restaurant in San Carlos had a really bad fire? It makes a person not want to ever leave town again. Not that my absence had anything to do with either, of course.

In case you haven’t read the linked article, although the Redwood City Barnes & Noble is indeed closing, their location isn’t remaining vacant: the book store will be replaced by a party supply store. It sounds as if Barnes & Noble had, years ago, locked in a below-market-rate lease that was set to expire next February, but  negotiations to renew with the owner of Sequoia Station failed. It appears that the property owner wanted a higher monthly rent than Barnes & Noble was willing to pay, whereas “Party Teller” (formerly a supplier to the late Party City) was OK with it. Party Teller seemingly wants to move in before the holiday season (which includes Halloween, presumably), thus Barnes & Noble’s somewhat early exit. But I take heart in the fact that Barnes & Noble said “it intends to seek future opportunities for a new store in the Redwood City market” and has even pointed to the empty CVS store in Woodside Plaza as the kind of place at which they are looking (not that they will necessarily end up there, but they’re looking for larger spaces like that one — 5,000 square feet or so). Their interest in Redwood City especially makes sense given that I’ve also read that the large Barnes & Noble at Hillsdale Mall is going to undergo a major remodel in the near future, necessitating the closure of that store for an extended period of time. Having it closed, and not having a store open in Redwood City seemingly leaves a large hole in the area for Barnes & Noble.

Of course, these days I do all of my new book shopping at Fireside Books & More on Broadway in Redwood City, so I personally won’t really miss Barnes & Noble. Although Fireside is a smaller store and thus doesn’t have quite as extensive a selection, they can order just about anything, and they almost always receive what I order quickly. And the owners and employees are not only delightful to talk to, they are pretty knowledgeable and extremely helpful — just what you would hope for in a small independent retailer. Do give them a visit if you haven’t already.

Not all changes are bad, of course. For one, although Electronic Arts is going private next week (today they are a public company, but all of the shares are being purchased by a couple of large investment firms), the existing CEO will remain and, more importantly, the company will remain in Redwood City.

More along the lines of what I usually report on, this week’s City Council meeting provided a very strong signal that the 1900 Broadway project, which was approved in late 2024, will likely get underway soon. Although the Council didn’t discuss the project itself, it approved two items that enable the project to proceed. First, it approved the sale — for $10,750,000 — to the developer of the project the one-block segment of Spring Street between Main and Walnut streets. That project, if the address doesn’t ring a bell, is the one that will replace the building at Main Street and Broadway that used to house Wells Fargo Bank. The developer, Lane Partners, plans to build a seven-story mixed-use building containing mostly offices but also some retail.

The block that the old bank building currently stands on is not rectangular, thanks to Spring Street angling through what otherwise would be a rectangle (the small triangle that is on the other side of Spring Street is currently a parklet). By selling the one-block street segment plus the parklet to the developer, they then have the full rectangular block they need on which to construct their project.

Here is a map showing that segment of Spring Street to be eliminated, marked in red:

If you, like me, are used to heading eastward down Marshall and then taking the two blocks of Spring Street that merge onto Broadway, you’ll have to get used to a new driving pattern. Note that as part of the project the one block section of Walnut Street that runs along the back of the parcel (which is currently narrow and one-way, I believe) will be expanded to a full two-lane road, meaning that one option will be to stay on Marshall just one more block, turn right on Walnut, and then turn left on Broadway. Or, you could connect to Broadway via Main Street, via Maple Street, or even via Chestnut Street. Either way, we’ll have to develop new habits when heading to the main post office, to 101 southbound, or to other destinations in that part of Redwood City. As well as doing something similar on the return trip, of course.

Here’s a picture that gives you some idea of what the “Spring/Marshall parklet” looks like:

This is the section that was fenced off by the folks behind the ELCO Yards project to form a temporary dog park while they were revamping the Main Street Dog Agility Park. Especially for folks with dogs living in The Marston — the large apartment building just across Marshall from this parklet — the loss will be felt. However, before the dog park was put in, this parklet didn’t seem to get a lot of use (it doesn’t have any real amenities), and this dog park was always meant to be temporary. Now that the Main Street Dog Agility Park is complete — and is even bigger and better than before, given that there is now a separate section just for small dogs — the dog area was on borrowed time anyway. And hopefully, the new downtown park project, assuming it ever gets built, will have some accommodation for dogs (it will certainly be a welcome respite for people, anyway). Finally, the city added a new dog park to Red Morton Park (very close to the new Senior Center) and there is always the large one on Radio Road out near the end of Redwood Shores, so there are options for dog owners, even if they aren’t nearly as convenient for some. Finally, the 1900 Broadway project will include a large open plaza that will be usable by the public, so although that doesn’t do anything for dog owners, it will provide yet another place for people to enjoy time out-of-doors in downtown Redwood City. And the development will include a number of new trees, that, years down the line when they have matured, will hopefully make up for the loss of the large trees that today dot the Spring/Marshall parklet.

That’s just the first item the City Council voted to approve on Monday that will help the 1900 Broadway project move forward. The other relates to the project’s affordable housing component. Early on, the developer had intended to locate some amount of affordable housing within the project itself — on the upper floors of what otherwise would have been a large office/retail building. But they soon realized that it made more sense to pair the office project with an off-site affordable housing development. Thus, they worked with Eden Housing to propose a 72-unit affordable apartment project at 847 Woodside Road, where today there is a church operating out of a former mortuary building. That project was approved along with the 1900 Broadway project back in October of 2024. But on Monday, the City Council approved changing the linked affordable housing project to another that Eden Housing had proposed and was recently approved: the five-story, 76-unit affordable senior apartment project planned for 705 Veterans Blvd. (See the end of my post De-fence for a description of that project.)

Today, the parcel where the new senior affordable housing project is to be built is occupied by a couple of small businesses in one or more single-story commercial buildings:

The leases for all but one of those tenants expire by the end of 2026, with one lease stretching well into 2027. Thus, unless that one tenant agrees to terminate their lease early, the housing project won’t get underway until 2028 at the earliest. But Eden Housing needs time to raise funds to build the project anyway, so they’re in no hurry. Regardless, by approving the swap from 847 Woodside to 705 Veterans, the City Council has both greatly increased the chance of 705 Veterans being built, as well as increased the chance of 1900 Broadway getting underway. I should note that the connection between the two lies in the land beneath the affordable housing project: previously, Lane Partners, the developer of 1900 Broadway, was set to purchase the property at 847 Woodside Road and deed it over to Eden Housing. Instead, once they begin to move forward with their office project, they’ll purchase the parcel at 705 Veterans Blvd. and deed that to Eden Housing instead. Then, Eden Housing will build their project on their own schedule, as will Lane Partners with their project. (As for the fate of 847 Woodside, that project is likely dead.)

Finally, I should note that, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Lane Partners already has a commitment for a future tenant of their building: Cooley, LLP. Cooley, a mega law firm with offices in the US, Asia, and Europe, intends to move its Palo Alto offices to Redwood City, and 1900 Broadway is where they plan to land. So, with a tenant in hand, the Spring Street section now clear to be purchased from the city, and the affordable housing component also given the OK by the City Council, Lane Partners just needs to have its permits issued — permits that have been applied for and are in various stages of approval. So watch the site; demolition may commence later this year.

I’ll end this week with brief reports on the progress of two other projects. One that I’ve been reporting on for a while is Monarch at Redwood: the six-story, 86-unit affordable housing project underway in North Fair Oaks on San Mateo Avenue between Douglas and MacArthur avenues. I hadn’t visited in a while, so I’m pleased to note that it appears to be making excellent progress:

The structure appears to be complete, the windows are in, and exterior finishes are soon to be applied, if they haven’t already started.

Here’s another view of the building from the rear, showing the building’s ‘U’ shape in the center of which there will be a private outdoor area on the second floor for the building’s residents:

As you can see, the building looms over its mostly single-story neighbors, and indeed is quite visible from out on Middlefield Road. But the location is otherwise excellent; it’s an easy one-block walk to the Fair Oaks Community Center and the North Fair Oaks Library. And just a few blocks north from those along Middlefield Road is Redwood City’s Costco store, Sigona’s Farmer’s Market, and Outdoor Supply Hardware. Finally, frequent buses running up and down Middlefield Road will take residents to and from Redwood City’s transit center (and its Caltrain station) in just 15 minutes.

Back in Redwood City — well, technically, just outside the city limits — I’ve been waiting for the project at 1301 and 1311 Woodside Road (the corner of Woodside and Rutherford Avenue) to get underway. The two lots will be combined, after which the developer will build six townhouses: five with four bedrooms each, and one with just two bedrooms. Until recently, the two lots each contained one very small house: a 700-square-foot house on 1301 Woodside, and an 870-square-foot house (two bedrooms, one bathroom) on 1311 Woodside Road. Nowadays, however, those houses are no more:

I don’t know how many of those trees will be taken down, but with the lot otherwise clear, I expect to see construction activity on the site almost any day now.

Hopefully everyone is staying cool; today’s high in Redwood City seems to have been just a tad over 87 degrees. Me, I have a wedding to attend in Austin, Texas, and I’m really not looking forward to the temperatures there, which are forecast to peak right around 100 degrees (I bought a light-colored linen coat, pants, and shirt just for the occasion, hoping it’ll help me keep a tad cooler). After that, though, I’ll be back walking the streets of Redwood City, where our climate is “best, by government test”!