San Carlos Transit Village: A Brief Overview

By Katherine Hafner

A development project in San Carlos that has been in the works for almost a decade has recently stirred controversy among residents of the city who propose voting on the matter if it proceeds any further in its current form.

The Endeavor

Called the San Carlos Transit Village, the development would construct 280 rental apartment units on currently unoccupied land owned by SamTrans, located at Holly Street and El Camino Road, including some underground and some surface parking for residents of the new complex.

It also constructs a new “multimodal” transit center south of an existing historic depot, a new public plaza in front of the historic depot, a commuter parking lot for the existing Caltrain station and a “landscaped area” all the way to the end of El Camino Road, said Al Savay, community development director for the city of San Carlos.

The project’s location right across from a large residential neighborhood has angered many residents who argue that the project will produce unnecessary traffic, noise pollution and block their view of the hills, among other issues.

Some History

The Transit Village project began in the mid-2000s, when SamTrans accepted an application from real estate investment company Legacy Partners to build on the land.

Legacy Partners then submitted a proposal to the city of San Carlos in about 2007, Savay said.

The city has since worked with Legacy Partners closely, to assess the impact the project would have on the city and draft revisions of the project, both the actual proposed structures and infrastructure associated with it.

Savay estimates the total construction costs to total around $140 to $150 million, including landscaping, sidewalks and infrastructure.