City Council Approves 555 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay

The Half Moon Bay City Council has granted final approval for the proposed farmworker housing at 555 Kelly Avenue. The affordable housing project would bring 40 units to support the coastal city’s agricultural community. Mercy Housing is the project developer, working alongside local non-profit Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS.

Once complete, the 59-foot tall structure is expected to yield around 49,800 square feet, including 27,200 square feet for housing, 850 square feet of residential service offices, and 2,700 square feet for a new ALAS resource center. Apartment types will vary, with six studios, 26 one-bedrooms, and eight two-bedrooms. On-site parking will be included for 18 cars and 14 bicycles. For visitors to the mixed-use center, a reconfigured surface parking across from Ted Adcock will replace the surface parking removed at 555 Kelly Avenue.

555 Kelly Avenue, rendering by Van Meter Williams Pollack

555 Kelly Avenue potential mural inclusion, rendering by Van Meter Williams Pollack

Van Meter Williams Pollack is the project architect, and Jett is the landscape architect. The facade will be clad primarily with fiber cement for lap siding, board and batten paneling, and faux shingles. The complex design includes a podium-top setback, articulated design elements, bay windows, and a prominent cornice.

The project had been delayed by the city’s planning commission earlier this year. The decision to defer a vote and attempt to require conditions of approval that would contravene state law elicited responses from across the State, including Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

555 Kelly Avenue overlooking the street, rendering by Van Meter Williams Pollack

555 Kelly Avenue, image via Google Street View

The 0.38-acre parcel is a few blocks from Main Street along Kelly Avenue, next to the Ted Adcock Community Center and the Saturday market run by the farmer-owned Coastside Farmers’ Markets.

The project has secured $5.2 million in state and local funding. Earlier this year, Mercy and ALAS shared that project approval in the summer of 2024 means they expect to start construction in 2025, with completion as early as 2026.

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