San Mateo, MidPen Housing Partner On 7-Story Housing Development

SAN MATEO, CA — The city of San Mateo and MidPen Housing are partnering on building a new affordable apartment community in downtown San Mateo on publicly-owned land.

The apartment, called Kiku Crossing, will be located at 400 E. Fourth Ave. It is expected to be 225 units and 100 percent affordable, along with a five-story parking garage with 689 spaces.

The city is contributing $12.5 million toward the construction, according to a news release.

“This project is a great example of how we can work collaboratively with a nonprofit to build much-needed affordable housing on publicly-owned land,” San Mateo Mayor Eric Rodriguez said in a news release. “Kiku Crossing will help keep our downtown thriving by meeting our parking needs and by housing hundreds of working families who want to call San Mateo home.”

The development is being built under Assembly Bill 1763, which permits more density and height on properties that offer homes at below-market rates.

The current site currently consists of parking lots, and it was purchased by the city in 2012.

“We have an incredible partner in the City of San Mateo, who shared the vision to add more apartments to Kiku Crossing when California’s Density Bonus Law was amended,” Mollie Naber, Associate Director of Development at MidPen Housing, said in a news release. “This allowed MidPen to increase housing affordability on the City’s public sites, and we look forward to starting construction on this community.”

The building is expected to open in 2024, with the parking garage opening in spring of 2023.