A long-stalled plan for a seven-story office and retail project at 1900 Broadway in downtown Redwood City may finally be inching toward reality, as a pending prelease with Cooley LLP lines up to push the project from paper to shovels. The potential tenant commitment, first reported today, would give the developers the kind of anchor lease lenders and partners usually insist on before signing off on construction financing. Market chatter has pegged the possible occupancy at roughly 150,000 square feet, a hefty share of the building’s planned office space.
Cooley in talks to anchor the development
As reported by CoStar, a joint venture tied to Kilroy Realty and Lane Partners is pursuing plans for the site and is in discussions with Cooley LLP on a pending prelease. Industry commentary has floated the potential deal size at about 150,000 square feet, according to a market post by industry watcher Mike Field on LinkedIn.
Project entitlements and partners
The city has already signed off on a seven-story, roughly 256,000-square-foot mixed-use building at the corner of Broadway and Main, paired with an off-site affordable housing donation at 847 Woodside Road, according to the City of Redwood City development agreement and its related CEQA filing. Lane Partners lists 1900 Broadway as an under-development office project with ground-floor retail and a public plaza.
Why an anchor tenant matters
Developers typically need a sizeable prelease in hand to de-risk financings and win over lenders, and the Peninsula market has been showing fresh appetite for premium, transit-adjacent offices. Reporting in The Real Deal and market data from Cushman & Wakefield point to growing leasing activity along Caltrain corridors as tenants chase walkability and rail access.
Law firms are moving to downtowns
Redwood City has already landed major legal tenants. Paul Hastings signed a downtown lease late last year, and brokers say other firms are zeroing in on walkable, transit-linked locations, per local coverage. Recent transactions and leasing reports, including DivcoWest’s downtown acquisition and subsequent lease activity, highlight a cluster of legal and tech tenants gravitating toward the city’s core. Taken together, those moves make a large prelease at 1900 Broadway a particularly valuable anchor.
Next steps and timeline
Even with a signed prelease, the development would still need to satisfy conditions in the city’s development agreement, including the off-site land transfer for affordable housing and several public-realm improvements, before major site work can begin, according to the city filings. Final design tweaks, partner approvals and construction financing also remain unresolved, and the schedule will depend on how quickly those pieces fall into place.
For now, the deal remains preliminary. If Cooley signs, the prelease would register as a major vote of confidence in transit-adjacent office demand on the Peninsula. This story will be updated as any confirmations or new filings become public.
