Lease Agreement Reached For 555 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay

The City Council of Half Moon Bay has approved a lease agreement for the affordable housing project at 555 Kelly Avenue in downtown Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County. The town has entered into a 99-year lease agreement with project developer Mercy Housing for a five-story housing project for retired and senior farmworkers. The building will also include a new resource center for Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a local community non-profit.

Van Meter Williams Pollack is the project architect, and Jett is the landscape architect. The proposed 59-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 49,800 square feet, including 27,200 square feet for housing for 40 units, 850 square feet of residential service offices, and 2,700 square feet for the new ALAS resource center.

555 Kelly Avenue pedestrian view, rendering by Van Meter Williams Pollack

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

ALAS is a grassroots non-profit founded to support Latino farmworkers and families living in Half Moon Bay. The group is now overseeing various programs focused on advocating and supporting the well-being of the whole community.

Of the 40 units, there will be three studios, 34 one-bedrooms, and three two-bedrooms. The affordability ranges will include ten units for households earning around 30% of the area’s median income, 29 units for households earning around half of the area’s median income, and one market-rate apartment for the property manager.

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

On-site parking will be included for 18 cars and 32 bicycles. For visitors to the mixed-use center, a reconfigured surface parking lot across from Ted Adcock Community Center will replace the 18 surface parking spaces removed at 555 Kelly Avenue.

Construction is expected to cost around $43.9 million, according to documents published by the city. The financing plan includes a variety of financing sources, with the biggest sources expected to be from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, the CA Serna Farmworker Housing Program, and the San Mateo County Affordable Housing Fund.

555 Kelly Avenue, image via Google Street View

According to reporting by Alise Maripuu for Local News Matters, Mercy has secured nearly $20 million in funding so far. City Manager Matthew Chidester added that, “Mercy has obtained all the financing that they’re going to be able to obtain until these agreements are in place.” With the $1 annual lease agreement now secured, the developer can pursue the remaining financing sources.

The groundbreaking date has not yet been announced. The entitlements will remain valid through the end of 2028, at which time the developer would have to request a deadline extension.

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