Project Location
The project site is comprised of a collection of parcels that run north and south of the San Carlos CalTrain station at the intersection of El Camino Real and San Carlos Avenue, located east of El Camino Real, and west of the railroad tracks, generally between Arroyo Avenue & Oak St in San Carlos, California. The site consists of approximately 8.7 acres (gross), and is owned by SamTrans and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. It is located in the City of San Carlos West Side Specific Plan area. In the City of San Carlos General Plan, this area is located in the "North El Camino Real" geographic sub-area. Section 4.920 (Implementation Goal) of Resolution 2003-79 to the West Side Specific Plan states that the entire study Railroad Corridor will be rezoned from CS (Highway Commercial Service) to the Planned Community Zoning District. The project will implement this goal.
Project Description
The developer, Legacy Partners Residential, Inc., has submitted an application on behalf of the property owner, Sam Trans, to redevelop the property into a "Transit Village", which is a development involving mainly residential uses and some retail uses, and a multi-modal transit center situated south of the historic depot. The main elements of the project include:
1. 4-story residential buildings over parking garages, including four buildings north of Holly Street, and two buildings just south of Holly Street. There are a total of 281 residential housing units, including 105 1-bedroom units, 101 2-bedroom units, and 75 3-bedroom units. 15% of the 281 units will be required to be Below Market Rate (BMR) units.
2. 34,600 square feet of retail/commercial space housed in three buildings: two are immediately north and south of the San Carlos Train Depot, and the third is in the south wing of a residential building. 15,600 square feet is on the ground floor and 19,000 square feet is on the second floor. Parking spaces are provided for retail users.
3. 457 total residential garage parking spaces, at a parking ratio of 1.63 spaces/dwelling unit. These garages will be partially underground. In addition, 45 retail spaces and 226 CalTrain parking spaces are provided.
4. On top of the 8 new buildings, a multi-modal transit station and drop-off point is proposed just south of the historic train depot, in the parking lot. A pedestrian plaza and public gathering space in front of the historic depot are also proposed.
Project Management
The City has hired Metropolitan Planning Group, a planning consulting firm, to manage this project. Whitney McNair is the main project manager, responsible for keeping the review process on task and on schedule.
Urban Design Consultant
The City has hired Van Meter Williams Pollack (VMWP), an urban design consulting firm, to review the design proposal of the project. This effort is led by Rick Williams. The consultant's role is to assist the city in ensuring the proposal addresses the City's design goals and objectives, maintains an exceptional level of architectural design and fits into the fabric of the community.
Retail Analysis
The City has hired the Rosenow Spevacek Group (RSG) to prepare a retail report to evaluate the retail component and determine if the proposed retail space represents the maximum potential for the site. The initial proposal included 8,000 to 10,000 square feet of commercial space. Though several iterations and discussions with city staff and guidance of the Council subcommittee, commercial/retail square footage was expanded to 34,600 s.f of which approximately 15,600 square feet will be ground floor retail space and the remaining 19,000 s.f. will be office. However, there is a potential for second floor retail or restaurant space.
The findings of the RSG report state that the proposed amount of retail is best suited for this location and the long, narrow site configuration limits adding additional retail space to the proposal. A key objective is to link this new retail/commercial anchor to the west side of El Camino and strengthen pedestrian linkages into San Carlos Avenue and downtown. This will help add to the vitality of downtown and could be a catalyst for further revitalization of the remaining El Camino corridor. The RSG report is available upon request.
Project Updates
The proposed design of the site has been changed substantially since the beginning stages of design. Legacy and SamTrans have been actively meeting with various city officials and interest groups to receive their input on the project, and have been receptive to the feedback. As a result, the number of residential units has been reduced, while the amount of retail has been significantly increased.
The original proposal brought to SamTrans by Legacy in March 2005 was to include 319 rental residential units and 6,000 square feet of retail. In November 2006, conceptual designs submitted to the City by Legacy included 29,500 square feet of retail alongside 280 residential units. The most recent proposal submitted to the City on May 29, 2007 stands at 34,600 square feet of retail and 281 rental residential units.
The City has held a series of meetings with the applicant to discuss the project, and to move forward with the design.
The Railroad Subcommittee of the City Council has met four times to date regarding this project. The meetings were held in February, March, May, and December of 2007. One meeting included meeting with SamTrans Board representatives and SamTrans executive staff. Summaries of Council subcommittee meetings have been provided to the applicant and design team for consideration.
The City and VMWP have held a TOD (Transit Oriented Development) tour, and invited elected officials, Council members, and community members to attend. The intent of the tour was to review desirable and undesirable elements of TOD development to inform the San Carlos Village project. This was a successful outreach event in which City staff and the applicant were able to hear feedback from various groups and individuals. A summary of the tour and questions and answers from the tour is available for review upon request.
An earlier site visit to a Legacy Partners project in San Jose included a Council Subcommittee member, SamTrans board representatives, city staff and SamTrans executive staff. The intent of this visit was to review the level of project design quality to help inform the San Carlos project.
