Big Workplace campus OK’d in South San Francisco | Native Information
A sweeping office development on 28.5 acres comprising 2.8 million square feet over six buildings is poised to be constructed in South San Francisco.
The development, slated for a site bordering San Bruno adjacent to The Shops at Tanforan, is the latest in an intensifying life-science boom on the Peninsula, of which South San Francisco is at the epicenter.
The proposal gained Planning Commission approval last week and will go next before the city councils in South San Francisco and San Bruno for a final signoff. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin this year, with the final phase wrapping up in 2030.
Between 5,000 and 11,000 people would be employed at the campus, depending on tenants, according to a city report, and buildings would range from three to seven stories, with a maximum height of 120 feet dictated by the nearby airport. A new public road running east-west through the site would also be built, as would two parking structures comprising 1,095 spaces.
Plans further indicate a restaurant, bar and park on-site, in addition to infrastructure upgrades including bike lanes, pedestrian space improvements and nearby intersection redesigns to handle increased traffic. City planners hope employees will use car alternatives like public transit to commute to work, given the site’s proximity to the San Bruno BART station adjacent to the Tanforan mall.
The developer, Menlo Park-based Lane Partners, is proposing a community center to also be included, which could be run in conjunction with the city to offer space for nonprofits and community programming. A payment of $25 million to the city would be part of the agreement, to be spent at the city’s discretion, on top of another $50 million in impact fees that would go to affordable housing and infrastructure upgrades.
City planners expressed hope the developments could revitalize the area, which is currently occupied by several industrial warehouses and distribution buildings and large surface level parking lots.
A residential neighborhood directly to the south of the site in San Bruno could also stand to benefit, as the project would include a park space with a walkway, community garden and children’s play area along Tanforan Avenue adjacent to the homes where there are currently truck loading areas.
“The community benefits are great, the design is amazing, it’s going to transform that whole area … I’m fully in support of the project,” Planning Commission Chair Sam Shihadeh said.
The project has been in the works for at least five years as the developer has worked to acquire the parcels that make up the project site. The Planning Commission last year reviewed a proposal that did not include a corner lot at 80 Tanforan Ave., which was added in the most recent plans to include a parking garage.
The first phase of construction is planned to last about two years, and would include the southern buildings, including the restaurant space and community center, which account for 680,000 square feet.
“I think overall we’ll see a net positive from the construction of this project and development of this site,” Planning Commissioner JulieAnn Murphy said, who noted the new road and surrounding street improvements as a particular benefit.
The Tanforan mall is set to undergo a similar transformation into a biotech campus, potentially also with 1,000 units of housing. That project is envisioned as having 2 million or more square feet, although formal plans have yet to be submitted.
The San Bruno City Council plans to meet next week to discuss the Southline project, and the South San Francisco City Council will likely deliberate on the plans mid-July.
