San Mateo City Council decided on Tuesday night to tear down the aging Avalon Motel and redevelop the roughly 2-acre site into 42 townhomes. The motel, located just east of Highway 101 on Bayshore Blvd, is known for being a hot spot for criminal activity, and was deemed by the Planning Commission as a "blight on the neighborhood".
Eric Rodriguez, a member of the Planning Commission said at the meeting, "after almost tripping over a half-full bottle of malt liquor, I was just really disappointed as to how this was part of this neighborhood that deserves better. I think San Mateo deserves better. We talked a lot about how important housing is, I think this is a great spot for housing. I think this is what we need in this area."
The Avalon had actually been functioning as residences for lower income families in recent years. Their nightly rate is $49.00, but they offer cheaper rates for longer stays. City Ventures, the company who will be developing the site, has promised 3 months of rent to each of the families that are displaced as a result of the new project.
The new development will consist of all for-sale townhomes, each equipped with solar panels, energy efficient appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures and electric vehicle charging stations. Construction could begin as early as this summer and finish as early as the end of 2017.
Given the environmentally conscious development specs, and the 2 huge office developments being constructed in San Mateo (the old Bay Meadows site and the Kmart site at Highway 92 and Delaware), it is likely that City Ventures is looking to attract the millennial workforce. Much of the new office space is bound to be leased by tech, whose relatively young workforce is known for being environmentally conscious.
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