A skyward vision

Post date: Aug 17, 2016 11:21:33 PM

Published on: November 10, 2010, 01:36 AM By Bill Silverfarb, Daily Journal StaffA local architect has crafted a bold new vision for 45 acres of prime San Mateo real estate that will challenge the city’s 55-feet building height limit by a wide stretch. Dan Ionescu, who lives and works in San Mateo, proposes to one day replace the Hillsdale Shopping Center with 1,000 housing units, a 900-room hotel, 500,000 square feet of office space, 2 million square feet of retail and commercial space with parking for 10,000 cars and 12 acres of park space.

He proposes four towers for the property, one that reaches 40 stories tall. He calls his plan "San Mateo Center.” Although he has yet to formally unveil his plan, he realizes he faces some early obstacles, notably Measure P, a voter-approved initiative passed in 2004 that limits new building heights in San Mateo to 55 feet. The shopping center’s owner, Bohannon Development Company, also has given Ionescu’s plan an early chilly reception.

"The San Mateo Center is my subjective vision for the future,” said Ionescu, an international architect and town planner who has worked in the area for 30 years.

Read more in The Daily Journal...