Burlingame art museum development takes form

The project, unlike others in its intent to combine the variety of uses into a single seven-story tower, is slated to redevelop the land currently home to the Peninsula Museum of Art, which is yet to find a new location.

Beyond the distinct plans, Gardiner said the project is the first of its kind in an area where officials are looking to establish a new neighborhood under a general plan update seeking to facilitate housing construction.

“This is unique in that it is the first in a new Burlingame mixed-use area,” said Gardiner.

The project proposed by property owner Mario Muzzi aims to split 60 units over the top two floors of the building, above four stories of office space and a ground floor reserved for additional commercial square footage.

Gardiner said ideally the bottom floor would be reserved for retail but, considering the changes in the industry, he said options for the space will remain open. For the residential units, Gardiner said as many as 10% will be set aside at an affordable rate, but that is also yet to be determined.

The first set of project plans have been submitted and are under review, according to Gardiner who said the project will likely be up for initial public examination later this summer, barring unanticipated changes.

The property is currently occupied by the Peninsula Museum of Art, which received notice that its lease is soon ending to make way for redevelopment, sending officials with the creative collective scrambling to find a new home.

Museum founder and Executive Director Ruth Waters said the escalating cost of land across the Peninsula has made it exceedingly difficult to find a new spot to house the program featuring artist studios, galleries and exhibits.

She said officials are especially intrigued by an opportunity to occupy one of the campuses soon to be vacated by the Redwood City Elementary School District, as education officials are in the process of shuttering schools and looking to rent the properties to raise revenue for a busted budget.

Waters said previously the museum is forming an alliance with other nonprofit art groups to raise money among like-minded organizations which could share the expansive former education spaces. As part of that effort, Waters said the museum is discussing a partnership with Broadway By the Bay and the Dragon Theatre to see if the drama organizations have interest in cohabiting any future Redwood City locations.

But Waters suggested the former school sites may also be too expensive, so officials are continuing their search elsewhere. She said museum representatives recently toured the San Mateo Masonic Temple, but they are concerned the costs and challenges associated with occupying a portion of the building are also too steep.

So as it stands, the only certainty for the museum is that it will need to move from the existing space in the coming months, said Waters.

“Yes, we will need to vacate by the end of the year, and yes, we are still looking,” Waters said in an email.

Yet despite the challenges associated with relocating, Waters has suggested she harbors no ill will for needing to move, especially to make space for more housing in an area largely starved for residential development.

As it relates to the redevelopment proposal, the project is proposed in an area where Burlingame officials agreed more housing should be located, due to its nearness to public transportation hubs like the Millbrae train station. The project is only a short distance from Adrian Court, where another developer is proposing 265 units as well.

“We felt this was a logical place to have more housing units given the proximity to transit,” Gardiner said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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