Foster Square proceeds with new developers: Citys long-vacant site to be home of seniors, retail space

The future of the long-vacant remaining portion of Foster Citys 15-acre site is taking shape as two new developers have come on board to construct the retail and for-sale residential components of the multi-million dollar senior housing project.

Adjacent to City Hall, the city sold its last remaining piece of undeveloped land, that was once considered for a high school when it was 30 acres, for $30 million in November 2013 to the blanket developer The New Home Company. The site off Foster City Boulevard is already starting to bustle with streets being laid. Construction of the very first building will begin Dec. 8, said Community Development Director Curtis Banks.

The council has had a vision for this project for a number of years and its exciting to see that coming to fruition, Banks said. The community is excited to see the vision of the property coming about and you can see now the construction activity has started with the construction of infrastructure and in the near future you can see the start of construction of those buildings.

The entire site is slated to host 155 assisted living units, 66 affordable units, 200 for-sale condominiums, a community plaza and approximately 35,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. With the site being made up of differing housing categories, the New Home Company planned to piecemeal the construction to developers with varying specialties.

On Monday night, the City Council approved allowing Lennar Homes of California to construct the 200 for-sale units and for BHVCP Centerstreet Properties to own and manage the retail component below the affordable and assisted living units, according to city staff reports.

Foster City-based MidPen Housing was assigned the affordable housing component, which served as the linchpin for the entire site since the citys development agreement required the low-income units be constructed first. Atria Senior Living was chosen earlier in the year to develop the assisted living portion of the project.

What Im most pleased with is that [The New Home Company] has selected three outstanding and, as far as Im concerned, the best in their field, Councilman Steve Okamoto said. I think were in pretty good hands.

The New Home Company originally planed to construct the for-sale units, however, it opted to transfer its rights to Lennar instead. Banks said he couldnt speak to the rationale behind the change of plans and The New Home Company did not return a request for comment.

Lennars 200 for-sale units will be made up of two-, three- and four-bedroom units spread between several buildings. The 60-year-old development company is one of the nations largest home builders, boasts a market capitalization of over $8 billion, has constructed more than 750,000 homes in the United States and has experience in senior living arrangements, according to staff reports.

These are all companies that are in the top in their field and it was designed this way because it was a better and easier way to finance the [entire] development, Mayor Charlie Bronitsky said. Therere several different kinds of care and facility types and to be able to bring in those with expertise in that particular kind of development gives us the best of both worlds.

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Foster Square proceeds with new developers: Citys long-vacant site to be home of seniors, retail space