Nearly twenty-five years in the making
Despite the autumn nip there was a buzz of excitement in the air on Saturday as locals gathered for a harvest fair and press conference to announce the start of construction at the Big Wave campus, where a new $37 million housing project is set to redefine the living experience for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Bay Area. This moment marks the culmination of 24 years of hard work, dedication and the steadfast belief that adults with IDD deserve more than just a place to live — they deserve a vibrant community where they can thrive.
The project, situated in Princeton Harbor, will provide housing for 38 adults with IDD in a two-story, 50,000-square-foot residence featuring studio to three-bedroom apartments, according to the plans presented at the press conference. Beyond just housing, the Big Wave campus will offer access to continuing education, social enrichment and job training for hundreds of adults with IDD throughout the region. The plans also include a 10,000-square-foot courtyard, a commercial kitchen and indoor common areas designed to foster interaction and growth.
After years of planning and delays for leaders of the project, like founder Jeff Peck, Saturday marked a significant milestone. Progress has already been made to prepare the site. Big Wave has secured all necessary construction and utility permits, and vital underground infrastructure — including water mains, sewer mains and onsite water and sewer utilities — have been installed. A biological protection fence is in place, and Phase I of the wetlands restoration has been completed. Temporary electricity is up and running, and Big Wave says the project’s financing has been secured, with Swenson Builders named as the general contractor. Construction of the primary residence is slated to begin this month, with a projected completion timeline of 18 months.
For Leslie Nordin, board president of the Big Wave Group and mother of Sawyer, a 20-year-old who is blind and autistic, this moment carries deep personal significance.
“There is no road map for parenting a child with special needs,” said Nordin at the event. “Your experience is vastly different from those friends and family around you, and getting from point A to point B is never a straight line. It has so many twists and turns and obstacles in your way …. Despite all those things that are vastly different with our journey with Sawyer, what we want as parents for him are the same as any other parent. We want Sawyer to have his days filled with things that he enjoys, things that challenge him. We want him to feel connected to people. We want him to have friends and a community of his own.”
Nordin and her husband began searching for a place for Sawyer when he was just 14 years old. Their search finally led them to Big Wave, where they found a community committed to addressing the unique needs of adults with IDD.
“We were drawn to Big Wave’s commitment to creating a community hub for individuals with disabilities from all varying backgrounds, abilities and levels of independence throughout the Bay Area,” said Nordin. “We were really drawn to the passion, especially Jeff Peck, that Big Wave had to create something unique, something different for the very important and very unique, but often overlooked interests and needs of this underserved community.”
The need for such a project is immense. The Bay Area is home to more than 55,000 individuals with IDD, and more than half are adults. Many live at home with aging caregivers, facing isolation and limited opportunities for employment or social interaction. When family members pass, these individuals often face a housing crisis, compounded by an 85% unemployment rate among adults with IDD. Big Wave aims to be a solution to this crisis, offering not just housing but also opportunities for job training, recreation and community integration.
The project’s impact extends beyond its future residents. One Step Beyond, which many locals are already involved in, will lease the on-site commercial kitchen and operate a culinary academy, catering program and day program.
“One of our core values is opportunity, and through partnerships, we can open those doors for opportunity where they might have been closed before for adults with disabilities, and that’s why our partnership with Big Wave is so important to us,” said Madison Blanton, CEO of One Step Beyond, and sister to an adult with intellectual disabilities.
San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller underscored the significance of the project in addressing the Bay Area’s housing crisis, particularly for its most vulnerable residents.
“Every person in our county deserves a place to call home,” Mueller said. “This project will provide vital housing and create a safe, thriving community within the greater community.”
Plans for the Big Wave campus will continue to feature a five-acre farm, already a hub for hundreds of adults with IDD who visit through county day programs to gain farming skills, nutritional guidance, and social opportunities. For Julie Shenkman, a local parent, the project represents hope for her son Sam, who graduated from high school only to find his services abruptly halted.
“What a lot of people don’t realize about adults with special needs is that when they leave the school system, a lot of their services just come to a grinding halt,” said Shenkman. “So that’s continuing education, that’s job training, that’s access to job opportunities, that’s for some of them, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and definitely their community integration and community support. It just ends, and it’s a very challenging time for them.”
As the golden shovel was lifted and construction officially began, the vision set in motion over two decades ago by Peck took a giant leap toward reality.
For those involved and for future residents, the project, slated for completion in early 2026, is more than just a housing solution. It’s a place where adults with IDD can live, learn and belong.
“Now after thousands and thousands of hours of time, energy, work, dedication, arguments, tears, laughter, celebration, we can now stand here and we can announce that construction is beginning,” said Nordin.