A proposed research and development biotech campus at 101 Gull Drive has received approval from the South San Francisco Planning Commission to add building height and parking to plans.
The changes call for increasing the building from seven to nine stories and adding two levels to the parking garage, according to a staff report. The site is on 3.8 acres of property in the city’s East Side neighborhood and proposes the building go from around 166,000 square feet to 281,000 square feet. The proposal now calls for 574 spots instead of 419, going from the minimum standards required in a project to the maximum. According to a staff report, the project will reach around 160 feet tall. Developer Sanfo Group asked the Planning Commission to amend its 2022 approved entitlements at an April 20 meeting. The commission agreed to the changes without any criticism.
“I do like the project, and I will approve it,” Vice Chair Norm Faria said.
The proposal would develop what is now a vacant 3.7-acre lot surrounded by industrial uses into a research and development site not far from Oyster Point Marina and Genentech. The lot was sold in 2020 for $14.9 million. The project developers received the first approval in 2022. Commissioner John Baker asked that the developer and tenants try to promote alternative transportation for people using the site. He noted that while he wanted to reduce parking, inconsistent developmental planning on the city’s east side makes it necessary. Chair Alex Tzang applauded the designs that made the massing look much smaller than it actually is.
“It’s quite easily an approvable project,” Tzang said.
