Meeting Tomorrow for 500 East 4th Avenue in San Mateo

The San Mateo Planning Commission is scheduled to review plans for a six-story mixed-use infill at 500 East 4th Avenue in San Mateo County’s namesake city. The project, on Block 20, will produce new office space and a garage capped by 86 homes. Windy Hill Property Ventures is the project developer.

The project is just the latest mixed-use development by Windy Hill Property Ventures east of the San Mateo Caltrain tracks. The firm has recently purchased the property necessary for Block 21, where the firm plans to build 179,600 square feet of office space and 111 apartments. YIMBY has also covered plans filed by the Windy Hill and Arc Tec for a five-story mixed-use infill at 435 East 3rd Avenue, creating five apartments and 33,880 square feet of office space.

500 East 4th Avenue pedestrian view, rendering by ARC TEC Inc

500 East 4th Avenue structure view, rendering by ARC TEC Inc

The 86-foot tall structure will yield around 356,810 square feet with 142,050 square feet for offices, 74,250 square feet for housing, and 140,510 square feet for the 269-car garage. Additional parking will be included for 95 bicycles. A second-level mid-floorplate atrium will offer office employees outdoor seating and landscaping.

The offices will cover most of the levels one through three, with partial coverage on the fourth and fifth floors. Housing will be incorporated into a U-shaped floor plate on levels four through six. The property will create around 86 apartments with 41 studios, 35 one bedrooms, and 10 two bedroom units. Residents will have access to a fitness center on the sixth floor. Of the 86 units, nine will be very low-income affordable homes.

500 East 4th Avenue view from 5th Avenue and South Delaware Street, rendering by ARC TEC Inc

500 East 4th Avenue facade elevation, illustration by ARC TEC Inc

500 East 4th Avenue vertical cross-section, illustration by ARC TEC Inc

The proposed design for 500 East 4th Avenue is one of the few that genuinely frustrates me. Renderings show an ill-balanced fusion of historicized architectural vernacular with a ham-fisted distinction of the mixed-use functions. Covering the lower floors, the office exterior has large rectangular windows awkwardly framed with arches. The more sensible rectangular framing is set back by the employee terraces. The residential units are again set back from the offices with an architectural style so different it appears to have been placed on top from a different era.

Admittedly, many of the ineffectual aesthetic choices for Block 20 are guided by the city’s design guidelines. As well, the design studio, Arc Tec, has demonstrated effective design with several other proposals across San Mateo and the Bay Area. There are several bright spots within the design, such as the parapet treatment delineating the offices from the apartments, and the residential design itself is not terribly offensive. However, their ill-conceived fusion offers a bizarre architectural chimera in a high-profile location within San Mateo.

500 East 4th Avenue, image via Google Satellite

KLA is the landscape architect, and BKF is the civil engineer.

The proposal will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission is scheduled for tomorrow, December 13th, at 7 PM. For more information about the meeting, visit the city’s public meeting portal here.

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