The corner of Belmont Avenue and El Camino Real is getting a major makeover, as a new 125-unit affordable housing development has been approved to replace the aging Bel Mateo Motel, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. The project will bring much-needed housing stock to a city under mounting pressure from the state to build.
ROEM Development Corporation is behind the project, with design work led by Withee Malcolm Architects, according to SF YIMBY. The site sits directly at 800-803 Belmont Avenue, on a 1.5-acre parcel that climbs a steep hillside rising from El Camino Real. Because of that terrain, the complex is designed as a terraced eight-story structure in which no single section exceeds six stories in height, per the same outlet's reporting.
Housing for Veterans and Low-Income Families
Of the 125 total units, 36 are reserved for extremely low-income households, and that group includes 19 supportive housing units set aside specifically for formerly homeless veterans, the report notes. The remaining 89 units will target households earning between 50% and 80% of San Mateo County's Area Median Income. Floor plans call for a mix of 52 one-bedroom, 40 two-bedroom, and 33 three-bedroom apartments, along with a three-floor subterranean garage holding 15 cars, a fitness center, and 6,500 square feet of outdoor recreation space.
The development sits less than half a mile from the Belmont Caltrain Station and directly along SamTrans bus routes on El Camino Real, according to the City of Belmont.
A Mid-Century Motel Makes Way
The property being replaced is the Bel Mateo Motel, built in 1952. Environmental filings reviewed the motel as a possible historic resource with a mid-century modern design, according to the California State Clearinghouse. The review was part of the project's environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act before city officials moved ahead with demolition plans.
The Belmont Avenue project is part of broader housing development in the city.
Meeting State Housing Mandates
The push comes as Belmont faces a dramatically higher bar under state housing law. Under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle running from 2023 through 2031, Belmont must plan for 1,785 new housing units, a figure nearly quadruple the prior plan, according to Scot Scoop News. That state mandate has increased pressure for dense, transit-adjacent projects like the one replacing the Bel Mateo Motel.
