2 weeks Ago By Douglas Sams
Prometheus Real Estate Group has filed plans to build nearly 200 apartments on a long-vacant block in San Mateo — part of a broader wave of infill housing aimed at revitalizing the city’s aging commercial corridors. The developer submitted a formal application on April 15 for a 1.2-acre site at 715 N.
San Mateo Dr., formerly home to an auto dealership. The proposed six-story project would include 181 apartments, mostly one-bedrooms, ranging from 518 to 1,400 square feet.
Planned amenities include a rooftop deck, fitness center and sky lounge. Some 18 units are set aside as affordable housing. Prometheus filed the project under SB 330, the 2019 Housing Crisis Act, which streamlines approvals for qualifying residential and mixed-use developments.
The firm owns or manages more than 12,000 apartment units across the West Coast and ranks among the Bay Area’s largest private multifamily landlords. In San Mateo, its previous developments include 303 Baldwin and the mixed-use project 1st & B. In its latest proposal, Prometheus is working with architecture firm Winder Gibson.
The project was initially submitted in late 2024, deemed incomplete, and later accepted in January. The site sits on the northern edge of the city at a transition point between single-family neighborhoods and a cluster of auto dealerships. Its redevelopment reflects the city’s broader shift toward higher-density rental housing .
Since late last year, San Mateo has received proposals for nearly 3,200 new housing units — the most rapid influx in decades. Much of this growth is focused on commercial corridors such as El Camino Real and areas near transit. The only comparable wave of housing activity, city officials say, is the postwar building boom of the 1950s and ’60s, when San Mateo experienced significant population growth.
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