You’ll be able to rent a luxury apartment at Mecah Ventures’ proposed 14-story tower in San Mateo for less than the taxes on a local single-family home.
That’s part of the pitch by the Menlo Park-based developer, which has filed plans to build a 236-unit highrise at East 4th Avenue and El Camino Real, in downtown, the San Francisco Business Times reported. It would replace a row of single-story storefronts.
The project, targeting empty nesters who want to remain in San Mateo, is among several projects adding thousands of homes since last fall, when voters approved taller, denser housing in downtown and along El Camino.
Plans call for a 14-story luxury apartment tower, with hotel-style draws such as an indoor movie room, golf simulator, spa and gym.
The gray and white project, designed by Arc Tec, would include 80 studio, 136 one- and 20 two-bedroom apartments, atop 108,000 feet of ground-floor high-end shops, restaurants and offices. The building would have inset and corner balconies, with its top floors sheathed in floor-to ceiling windows, a rendering indicates.
Mecah would employ a state density bonus to construct a larger building than zoning rules allow in exchange for 36 affordable apartments for low- to middle-income households.
Apartments at the building dubbed “4th and El Camino” would lease for between $3,000 to $5,000 a month. With homes in San Mateo costing between $1.6 million and $4 million, monthly property taxes can run up to $3,700, according to Zillow.
“You could probably rent one of our units for less than the property taxes on a home you just sold,” Mike Field, founder of Mecah Ventures, told the Business Times.
It would be among the rare luxury offerings in downtown.
Field, who has several San Mateo projects in the works, expects more by developers after Measure T passed with 59 percent voter approval last fall. It allows taller residential buildings near Caltrain stations, El Camino and Highway 101.
“For a long time, density was bad,” Field told the newspaper. “That pushed out people more likely to use transit, downtown restaurants and amenities. And these downtowns started to die.”
Zachary Dahl, the city’s community development director, said eight new proposals totaling about 3,000 homes have been submitted since an updated general plan took effect late last year.
“The passage of Measure T opened the doors for new housing in San Mateo,” Dahl told the Business Times.
Read more
