30 Ingold Rd. To Get 298 Units

I'll bet not one in a hundred B'gamers know where Ingold Rd. is.  I didn't.  It's a small street off Rollins just over the train tracks from the Police station, a little south of Guittard Chocolates--which many B'gamers can locate.  When Ingold get a seven story building with 298 residential units built on it you will notice it.  The Daily Journal reports

The Burlingame Planning Commission gave glowing reviews to the 298-unit proposal at 30 Ingold Road from Summerhill Apartment Communities, during a meeting Monday, April 27.  The discussion marked the first formal examination of the planned seven-story building — which if built would be one of the largest housing developments in Burlingame over recent years.

Officials are optimistic the area is primed for development due to its proximity to the Millbrae joint Caltrain and BART station.  To that end, Loftis said he believed the project will catalyze further construction on and around Rollins Road.  “I would be disappointed and shocked if there wasn’t something else out there that doesn’t tie into this,” he said.

Well, I would be disappointed and shocked if the Planning Commission and the City approve anymore monster buildings prior to completing the 5-year update to the Urban Water Management Plan and figuring out where all of the kids in these new buildings are going to go to school.  Exactly which elementary school district is the northern part of Rollins Rd. in?  How much room does it have?  And does any planning commissioner care?  I doubt it.

Comments

[Bruce Dickinson]

You know what Bruce Dickinson says, Joe? I say that "in every profession there is a bell curve of talent." For example, let's say you need to find a heart surgeon. Most people will go to the local hospital and get one. But is that person really the best in their profession? Are they in the top decile or bottom decile? Just because being a doctor requires a lot of medical school and book smarts doesn't mean that all doctors are created equally. Some are really really good, most are average and some are really really bad. And the outcomes of their heart procedures can be measured (success rate).

Well, the same goes for real estate. Here you have this developer, who paid top dollar for the land (pre-COVID) and let's assume it's full speed ahead with the build. Talk about top-ticking the market! Yes I expect this with Burlingame and it's Rec Center as the decision makers aren't really well schooled in economics; however to basically say I'm going to build one of the largest multifamily units in Burlingame in an industrial location, right before a recession, seems like a really bad investment with awful timing.

Maybe if the developer waits a few years to wait for materials and labor to cheapen up..but then you're selling into a depressed market when people are unlikely to pay the same level of rent per unit as they are today.

Trust me I don't care how big the developer or investor, you will still see colossal mistakes being made, as in every profession there is that bottom tail that just isn't as competent.

Let these guys make the mistakes. I think overall you are going to see new real estate development plummet in the next 12-18 months while unemployment rise and that "housing shortage" will soon be correcting itself.

COVID has changed our world and previous notions of economics, valuation and markets are going to be changed for a long time to come!

[Mom]

Several of these new big buildings are Summerhill's doing. Maybe they should build a school in the industrial area. We could call it Summerhill School.

[Concerned]

The Post COVID-19 world is not being considered.

BART is no longer a feature.

[John Q ByTheBay]

From various discussions (whether informed, hypothetical, or based on assumptions), it appears that the "city" is trying deal with the state's push for more housing and greater density in bay area cities by dumping as many units as possible into mega projects (such as this one, or the one by 101 south of broadway). Their goal may actually be to push these units as far away from existing "low density" residential housing as possible to minimize political fallout. However, if so, they are creating some really ugly, blocky projects, that aren't integrated well into the community, with all the traffic, education, etc issues brought up above. Actually, since they aren't next to anything, it will actually force more cars/traffic to get to schools, shopping, etc. While it might not satisfy the state's high density goals, I'd rather see some better thought out projects, that were a better blend of single and multi-family units, and better integrated into our town.

[Paloma Ave]

Burlingame should get together with other suburban cities and tell hte state no more housing.

[MBGA]

I had to look that address up too. Maybe the new residents can all get jobs at the Beverly Coat Hanger Co.

[Slow growth]

Come election time would it be possible to list the council members who voted for stuff like this? It would be helpful when i vote. Thanks!

[MBGA]

slow growth, I agree.

[Joe]

From the Daily Journal piece headlined San Mateo County home building industry on shaky ground

SummerHill Housing Group CEO Robert Freed speculated that the slowed economy may yield difficulties for some developers seeking funding for new developments.

“Projects that haven’t come out of the ground yet might have trouble with financing,” he said.

Other industry experts agreed, with expectations that banks may be reticent to lend money for developments amid an unstable economy. These anxieties are heightened by local officials establishing rent moratoriums and other restrictions on the flow of money into the real estate sector, setting off a chain reaction of debt and risk sensitivities.

“I would not be surprised if the financial basis for these projects might be teetering a little bit,” said Burlingame Community Development Director Kevin Gardiner.
----------------
One can hope I suppose...............

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/san-mateo-county-home-building-industry-on-shaky-ground/article_4ed4c82c-9336-11ea-81a6-777d11dc8983.html#utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1589205614&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read%20more

[Joe]

4-0, 3 absent at Planning:

A key project expected to open the door for development of a new neighborhood in north Burlingame received glowing reviews from officials who blessed construction of 298 apartments near the Millbrae border.

The Burlingame Planning Commission unanimously approved, by a 4-0 vote with three commissioners absent, plans submitted from SummerHill Apartment Communities to construct a sweeping residential development and new park at 30 Ingold Road.

The development, which still needs a final approval from councilmembers, is expected by officials to help the area north of Broadway transform into a residential hub where additional, similar projects are planned to follow along Rollins Road.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/sweeping-burlingame-development-advances/article_7c41d81c-0f65-11eb-98e3-f31251a6df0a.html#utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1602856820&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

[Joe]

Keeping traffic flowing on Rollins Rd.:

Preserving the critical role Rollins Road plays as connective tissue linking different parts of Burlingame remains a key interest among officials planning the next phase of development along the thoroughfare traditionally reserved for industrial uses.

Burlingame planning commissioners agreed that planned residential development along the northern portion of Rollins Road should not break up the artery’s usefulness linking Millbrae and San Mateo along the Highway 101 frontage.

Another option allowed for construction of a series of smaller, segmented parks near Adrian Court, Ingold Road and Broderick Road which could be accessed by residents in the area, while still keeping Rollins Road a central focus of the region.

For their part, commissioners largely preferred the latter proposal, claiming that they want to assure that the usefulness of Rollins Road as a thoroughfare popular among those moving throughout Burlingame is not lost.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/burlingame-officials-plot-future-of-rollins-road/article_782eef80-70db-11eb-959b-0719dc1ce37e.html#utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1613574014&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

[Paloma Ave]

Do we think any of the proposed housing is going to be needed?

How long will it take to fill all of the housing at Millbrae BART?

Now that 50 - 65% of office workers can work from anywhere.

Oculus buildings, what will happen with them?

[Wunderkind]

High-rise homeless encampments.