A six-story, 181-unit apartment building is officially on its way to North San Mateo Drive, as the city continues to ride a post-Measure T development wave that is rapidly reshaping its transit corridors.
The project, from Prometheus Real Estate Group, will replace an aging Ford dealership and nearby structures at 715 and 723 N. San Mateo Drive with a new complex that mixes studios through three-bedroom units, 19 of them reserved as below-market-rate, plus resident amenities and on-site parking within walking distance of downtown and Caltrain.
According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, the Planning Commission voted 4-0 on Tuesday to approve the roughly 258,000-square-foot building. The plan calls for demolishing two one-story commercial buildings, including the former Ford dealership, along with a two-story duplex on the site.
What the city application lists
The city's project page shows that the formal application (PA-2025-031) calls for six stories over a below-grade parking garage, with 181 units in total and 19 below-market-rate homes for very-low-income households, according to the City of San Mateo. The package also describes a combined ground-level and subterranean parking structure with 182 stalls.
Amenity-wise, the application details a rooftop pool and spa, a fitness center, and multiple outdoor decks. The documents explain that the developer is relying on the state density bonus law and SB 330 provisions to lock in development rights once an application is deemed complete. City records show that a third resubmittal was declared complete on Jan. 12, preserving vesting protections for the project.
How it fits the city's housing push
The approval lands in the wake of Measure T, which voters passed in November 2024 to relax the city's long-standing five-story height limit in many areas and allow taller buildings along transit corridors, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. That change has opened the door for mid-rise projects like this one to move more quickly through the pipeline.
Regionally, San Mateo is under pressure to deliver thousands of new homes. The city is assigned roughly 7,015 units for the 2023-31 Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle, according to the tables reproduced in Menlo Park's housing element. The San Mateo Daily Journal reports that the city's active development pipeline is now closing in on those RHNA targets, thanks to several large proposals in various stages of review.
Parking, state rules and next steps
Parking and traffic impacts were a recurring flashpoint at the Planning Commission hearing, as commissioners and neighbors questioned how dozens of new units would affect nearby streets. The project leans on state-level tools like the Density Bonus law and SB 330 vesting protections, which limit how much local officials can tinker with certain development standards once the application reaches a defined threshold of completeness, according to the City of San Mateo.
Prometheus must now obtain final entitlements and building permits before construction can begin, and no public timeline for breaking ground has been released. In the meantime, city staff will continue technical review and can attach conditions to the project before permits are issued.
With Planning Commission sign-off, the North San Mateo Drive complex joins a fast-moving roster of developments that are set to reshape San Mateo's edges over the next several years. Nearby residents and transit advocates say they will be watching closely to see whether the finished building delivers on its affordability commitments and helps, rather than hurts, local street safety as the city absorbs a new wave of growth.
