The 350 Merrydale Road development plan, as depicted in a design rendering, will place 45 condominiums in northern San Rafael. (Courtesy of Campus Property Group)

By MATTHEW PERA | mpera@marinij.com |
PUBLISHED: February 4, 2020 at 4:14 pm | UPDATED: February 6, 2020 at 6:09 am
The San Rafael City Council on Monday approved a proposal for 45 new condominiums in Terra Linda.

The 2.3-acre property is south of the Northgate mall, and its eastern border abuts Highway 101. The surrounding neighborhood includes a mixture of single-family homes, apartments and commercial properties, with a SMART train station and several bus stops nearby.

“I’m encouraged by this project,” said Mayor Gary Phillips. “I think it makes a lot of sense in that particular area.”

The developer, Larkspur-based Campus Property Group, plans to demolish three one-story buildings on the property. The new housing complex will include nine three-story buildings, reaching 33.5 feet in height, with 41 three-story townhouses and four two-story condominiums. Each of the homes will be offered for sale.

The project follows San Rafael’s affordable housing requirements, with plans to offer 20% of the units for sale at below-market rates. Five units are set to be sold at rates affordable to low-income households and four at moderate-income rates.

The complex will include 87 garage parking spaces and seven additional on-site parking spaces.

Campus plans to build the complex in two phases, with construction expected to begin on the first 25 units in the spring, according to the proposal. Construction is expected to be completed in summer 2022.

Several residents urged the council to approve the proposal on Monday. Bill Carney, chair of San Rafael’s Citizens Advisory Committee, said the development “would bring much-needed housing” to the city.

“Forty-five townhouses located close to transit and also several major employment centers will help house the workforce required to support local economic vitality,” Carney said. “The project’s proximity to trains, buses, bike and pedestrian paths provides convenient alternatives to driving.”

Resident Kate Powers lauded the developer’s plan to build a walkway and install benches beside Las Gallinas Creek, which runs along the northern border of the property.

“I really appreciate treating the creek as an amenity,” Powers said.

Vice Mayor Kate Colin said she was impressed with the developer’s “incorporation of the neighborhood and community feedback” in its plans. When Campus pitched an early proposal to city officials in 2018, its designs included rooftop decks on each building. But when neighbors complained that the decks would encroach on their privacy, the developer reversed that idea.

“Often people are reached out to much too late in the process,” Colin said. “You went out early.”