San Rafael has chosen Eden Housing to plan permanent affordable housing on a city-owned site at 350 Merrydale Road, but no project has been approved yet.
According to a city news release posted Oct. 16, the City Council voted Oct. 5 to enter an exclusive negotiating agreement with Eden for the property, which also carries the address 3833 Redwood Highway. The agreement gives the two sides up to 12 months to work out terms. A final disposition and development agreement would go to the Planning Commission and then back to the council.
The "350" in the project's name is the street number. It is not a unit count.
The site and the deadline
The city's Oct. 5 staff report describes the property as about 2.5 acres just west of Highway 101, roughly two miles north of downtown and about half a mile from the SMART train's Marin Civic Center station.
The city bought the property in November 2025 with money from the County of Marin. In the near term, it is being used as an interim shelter for up to 65 unhoused people for two to three years. The county grant agreement requires the city to entitle at least 80 affordable units by June 30, 2028. If it misses that deadline, the city must pay the county $100,000 for each unit not entitled. A recorded covenant limits the land to at least 80 affordable units in perpetuity.
Local zoning would allow about 76 units, based on a net density of 21.8 to 43.6 units per acre, the report says. State density bonus law lets affordable projects go higher.
How Eden was chosen
The city issued a request for proposals Feb. 19. By the May 1 deadline, five developers had responded: EAH Housing, Eden Housing, the Pacific Companies, the Samuelian Group and Satellite Affordable Housing Associates. A panel of city and county staff and a San Rafael Chamber of Commerce representative narrowed the field to EAH, Eden and SAHA. A council subcommittee heard the three finalists Aug. 20.
According to the staff report, Eden scored highest for the most units, the most parking and the most neighborhood improvements, though it also had the highest cost per unit. The report compared the finalists:
- EAH: 81 units, three stories, 1.14 parking spaces per unit, about $722,000 per unit.
- Eden: 111 units, five stories, 1.5 spaces per unit, about $886,000 per unit.
- SAHA: 96 units, four stories, 0.75 spaces per unit, about $782,000 per unit.
Eden's concept, designed with architect Van Meter Williams Pollack, is a five-story building around a central courtyard on a one-story concrete podium. The top floor would be set back to reduce bulk along Merrydale Road, and 161 parking stalls would be on the ground floor. The mix would be 50 one-bedroom, 29 two-bedroom and 32 three-bedroom units, with rents targeting an average of about 49% of area median income. An alternative design would rise six stories with 122 to 137 units. Eden also proposed a pedestrian route along Merrydale Road to the SMART station.
All three finalists agreed to cover predevelopment costs, use state grants and federal tax credits, and lease the land for 99 years at $1 a year. Eden, founded in 1968, has developed or acquired more than 12,600 homes, according to the city. Eden will run community design meetings with FORA Engage.
Why it matters for Contractors
This project is not ready for bids. Over the next six months, the city says Eden will study feasibility and negotiate a term sheet. The staff report says the final project still depends on feasibility analysis, community input and potential site constraints. The city will not approve any project or land transfer until it completes environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The schedule is tied to the June 30, 2028, deadline to entitle at least 80 units, and the county grant puts a $100,000 penalty on every unit short. If Eden's concept holds, the job would be a five-story podium building with ground-floor parking on a 2.5-acre infill site beside Highway 101, plus possible pedestrian work toward the SMART station.
Eden plans to finance the project with state grants and federal tax credits, so contractors should expect compliance requirements set by those funding sources. Concrete, framing, mechanical, electrical and plumbing firms interested in the work can follow the city's 350 Merrydale project page and its email updates for design meetings and the agreement's return to the Planning Commission and council.