An Update on the Black Mountain Project.
December 3, 2025
It's Still Alive.
Many residents who live along the perimeter of the old Black Mountain Water property were quietly thrilled when the development of the controversial project to build 87 townhomes on the 11.4-acre parcel ground to a halt in 2023. At that time, the original developer of the 808 Alameda project, Veev, abruptly filed for bankruptcy, and the future of the project was very much up in the air.
That meant that the inevitable noise, dust, and inconvenience from such a massive construction project would be silenced, at least for the time being.
For those who may not be familiar with the controversial project and its origin, over ten years ago the City of San Carlos attempted to procure the plot of land formerly owned by the Black Mountain Company (see map below) along with the adjacent 7.3-acre Rollieri and the 4.9-acre Vista Del Granda properties, which would have created a unified plot of land of nearly 25 acres. The City intended to develop that land into a public park with hiking trails, likey very similar to the popular Eaton and Big Canyon Parks that residents currently enjoy.
To fund the purchase, the City floated a parcel-tax initiative on the ballot, Measure V, which would have added only about $20 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year for every San Carlos homeowner. But Measure V fell flat after garnering only a 38% approval with the voters, and the properties were ultimately sold on the market.
After Veev purchased the 11.4-acre Black Mountain parcel and submitted its proposed design to the City, there were numerous public hearings to discuss the proposed plans. Residents in the impacted areas vigorously protested the scale of the project, the impact on traffic, and even the ingress/egress of what would essentially be a new neighborhood right in their backyard. However, the plans were ultimately approved by the City of San Carlos, and the commencement of the project was inevitable.
After nearly a decade of planning, hearings, and design revisions, the project seemed ready to break ground until the original developer suddenly ran aground financially and was then ultimately purchased in 2023 by Lennar Corporation, a large nationwide builder. Since that time, it has been very difficult to get a read on the status of the project — I even asked several different officials in the City Planning Department, and they seemed to be as much in the dark as the rest of the public.
However, according to this article published last week in the Daily Journal, the developer was just granted a two-year extension by the City to break ground on the project. The original approvals were set to expire in November of 2026, and while the developer still plans to break ground on the project next year, they were granted a two-year extension as a safeguard against the “volatile state of the economy and unpredictable nature of the construction industry,” according to the article.
So if you live on one of the streets that will border the project — Heather Drive, Glasgow Lane, or Bauer Drive — the unexpected respite from construction noise that you've enjoyed for the past few years may be coming to an end in the near future.
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saddened but not surprised that this will be moving forward. Looking at the article on Daily Journal I am reminded of the preposterous rendering of the project (image in article titled 808 Alameda). Anyone who knows the area can easily see that 1/2 the hillside would need to be removed for the slope pictured in the image to be achieved, (briefly running through the development plan again it looks like average slope of the site is something like 28.5%). I live in the hills behind the site, and in recent years even basic single family home construction in the neighborhoods has caused a constant flow of dirt and debris into streets and driveways. This coupled with a series of winter atmospheric rivers could be catastrophic.
Thanks for your comment. I think there is a significant number of people in San Carlos who would wistfully love a “do-over” on the Measure V vote. I hike quite often at Eaton and Big Canyon Parks, and they are fabulous. I think the City could have built a spectacular hiking park on that parcel, but alas, we will never know.
My biggest problem with Measure V was that the city had no actual proposal for what to do with the land. Maybe a park, maybe something else. And because it was tied to assessed property values, the more recent residents were being asked to shell out > $400/year in taxes for *something* that they may not benefit much from.
Agreed. I recall that it was a poorly written measure, and the plan for the use of the property wasn’t fully baked.
It’s interesting that the city also just floated the idea of a recreational facility that included an aquatic feature. I believe many residents were interested in a town pool but worried about the loss of field space at Burton Park. I know the site of 808 Alameda involves a hillside, but I believe there is plenty of room at the top of of Coronado (the western boundary of the site) that could have been used to create extra ball fields and possibly even a pool, both within close proximity to Highlands Park. I wonder if the city had done a better job proposing measure V, if many of us would be brimming with excitement about the future of the old Black Mountain Water site, rather than dread. Oh … and then there’s the idea of regaining a high-school for San Carlos rather than having our kids and their friend-groups split up between Carlmont and Sequoia. It’s shocking what horrible decisions have been made about the future of our public spaces and available land!