Biotech hotel proposed for South San Francisco: Project serving life sciences industry going before city officials

The 12-story project formerly known as Centennial Towers was acquired late last year by Phase 3 Properties from Jack Myers, of Myers Development, with the entitlements to build a second neighboring tower as well another facility to house amenities.

Under a revised vision of the project, the new owner is seeking approval to construct a boutique hotel offering between 70 and 100 rooms along with a restaurant and retail space in the site reserved for amenities.

The hotel project is designed to serve as a connective piece building community between the office space and others visiting the 21-acre property.

“This central link provides the type of collision space where tenants and the community can meet, and is designed to create the vibrant and active life science community center that is central to Phase 3’s vision for Genesis South San Francisco,” according to a city report.

The existing tower is comprised of nearly 400,000 square feet of Class A commercial office space, as well as a market, gym, yoga center and a conference center accommodating more than 230 people.

The second tower was slated to house between 340 and 360 condominiums, as well as a restaurant, in a 21-story building. But when the site was acquired, the new owner shifted to reserve the second building for another 400,000 square feet of research and development space for use by life sciences companies, to address the growing demand for biotechnology accommodations in South San Francisco. Construction of the second tower has already begun, and Neil Fox, CEO of Phase 3 Properties, has said he expects it to be completed by 2018.

Phase 3 Properties is a development firm which specializes in construction of life science research and development space throughout California, focused in San Diego and the Bay Area.

The proposed new building would house nearly 17,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and fitness space split across the bottom two floors, while the third through seventh floors would feature between 14 and 22 hotel rooms on each level.

The architecture of the building is proposed to blend with the trademark style of the rest of the development, featuring tall towers of glass looming above Highway 101. Phase 3 Properties purchased the project and development rights last December for $144 million.

The second tower was initially slated to be 21 stories tall, with about 17,000 square feet per floor and built in a football shape with the nose of the building pointing toward the highway. The most recent design of the second tower envisions a taller, more slender building more closely mirroring the character of the first.

The developers have said the campus is necessary to accommodate the growth in South San Francisco’s biotechnology sector, which is recognized as an international hub of the industry. The growth has left no available space to accommodate biotechnology companies in South San Francisco, and there is less than 1 percent vacancy rate among biotech office space along the Peninsula.

The South San Francisco Planning Commission meets 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Municipal Services Building, 33 Arroyo Drive.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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