Redwood City's Newest Apartment Complex Changes Hands, New Owner Has Corporate Guided Vision

Redwood City’s The Lane on the Boulevard has been sold and rebranded before most residents even knew that it was open for business.  The 141 unit luxury apartment community has been sold to Singapore based company Mapletree for $84 million, and is now operated by their partners at Oakwood Worldwide, a company that specializes in temporary corporate housing.  Although the complex is already ¾ leased out, Oakwood says they intend to use the remaining units as extended stay rooms for their corporate clients.  While they didn’t disclose who those clients might be, Oakwood did hint that they work with up to three-quarters of the Fortune 1000 companies.

The previous owner, SummerHill Housing, had already designed the complex to cater to a more upscale crowd.  The rooms, though small, come fully furnished with washer/dryer, walk-in closet, dishwasher, air conditioning, patio/balcony, and high speed internet.  There is also a community fitness center, pool, clubhouse, chef’s kitchen, spa, and outdoor fireplace.  Summerhill even took steps to clean up the surrounding areas. They bought out the lease on the adult bookstore across the street, had the area rezoned to make sure another one couldn’t open, and payed to landscape a neighboring Public Utilities Commission site so it wasn’t an eyesore to their tenants.

But beyond the obvious benefit of the complex already being tailored to their corporate clientele, Oakwood says they were particularly drawn to Redwood City as a new found hub of growth and activity in the Silicon Valley.  “There’s job growth and new jobs and migration in that area,” said Kristen Zimmerman, vice president of real estate investments for Oakwood Worldwide. “Redwood City was one of our ideal submarkets within Silicon Valley".

Redwood City's growth has been no secret.  Box Inc. signed a lease in downtown’s Crossing/900 Development, Google purchased six office buildings at the Pacific Shores Center, and the city has constructed more than 1,500 housing units since 2007 – more than any other city in San Mateo County, but still not enough to meet the growing demand. 

When you take into account the increasing presence of big name corporations and the stiff competition for housing in Redwood City, it should come as no surprise that a company like Oakwood Worldwide would want to secure some prime real estate for their clients.  Still, to anyone that gets nostalgic about the old Redwood City, this purchase could be disappointing.  The name “The Lane on the Boulevard” was an homage to Mel’s Bowl, the bowling alley that used to occupy the site of the new apartment complex.  With the changing of the name to Oakwood Redwood City, the only remaining trace of Mel's Bowl is their old sign that is proudly displayed in front of Redwood City Car Wash on El Camino.