An eight-story mixed-use housing development with 140 new units has been proposed for Castro Street – just adjacent to a mixed-use housing development intended to replace the Chase Bank on West El Camino Real.
The mixed-use building at 881 Castro St. – to be called “Castro Commons” – is set to include condominium units, 9,744 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and two levels of below-grade parking.
The city held an administrative zoning public hearing on the development on Oct. 22, and a recommendation was made to the city council to approve the development plans.
Edgar Maravilla, a senior planner with the city, said the development plan had met the conditional requirements for approval. City council will consider the proposal Dec. 9.
The developers are planning for 22 units dedicated to low-income households. The site will have an outdoor paseo, approximately 200 parking spaces and 164 bicycle parking spaces.
The property is being developed by GPR Ventures, a San Jose-based real estate development firm. The group first applied for permits in April 2023. The development plan is to remove five existing commercial buildings, two surface parking lots and one residential building at the site.
GPR Ventures filed its application under SB 330, which sets a ministerial review process for certain housing developments if the developments meet certain requirements.
The 1.43-acre site will require the merging of six parcels between Castro Street and Hope Street, including a portion of Fairmount Avenue.
Peter Given, a spokesperson for GPR Ventures, said there were still some aspects of the conditional approval which were being finalized with the city before the Dec. 9 meeting.
“It’s been a long time coming for this project and we are very excited,” Given said.
Ken Rodrigues, the project architect, said that the design was intended to be community oriented, with outdoor dining and seating, lighting and other amenities.
“People will be able to walk through this paseo to the park at the corner of El Camino and Castro and we hope it will be very active,” Rodrigues said.
The development will be across the street from a proposed 299-unit housing development which would replace the Chase Bank at the corner of West El Camino Real and Castro Street.
The proposal was made by Charleston-based multinational developer Greystar Real Estate Partners and calls for a mixed-use structure with 299 residential apartment units and 22,337 square feet of retail, restaurant, bank space and parking at 749 West El Camino Real. The plan designates 33 of the units for low-income households.
The project plans include the demolition of the still-operating Chase Bank building at the site, which includes a historic mosaic created by architect Millard Sheets in the 1970s. The vacant Clarke’s Restaurant next to the Chase parking lot will also be demolished.
