A proposed biotech campus and a research and development campus nearby on the Burlingame Bayfront are moving through the development process, with the Planning Commissioner satisfied with most project aspects.
The 12-acre biotech site from 1200 to 1340 Bayshore Highway on either side of Easton Creek calls for three 11-story buildings at nearly 1.5 million square feet and two 10-story parking structures to provide 3,500 parking spaces. The buildings would all be more than 200 feet, nearly double the height of the nearby Hyatt hotel and adjacent One Bay Plaza building. The project, known as Peninsula Crossing, would also have new bike and pedestrian crossings around Easton Creek and a berm on the eastern side to withstand climate change flooding. The berm would be up to 17 feet above current sea level and could connect to other protection infrastructure in the area. Peninsula Crossing would connect a missing quarter-mile portion of the bay trail and restore a tidal wetlands area along the creek. The southern building includes plans for a restaurant on the ground floor, overlooking a park area with a theater near the intersection of Airport Boulevard and Bayshore Highway.
At an Aug. 22 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners found no outstanding environmental impact review issues that would derail the project. Some on the commission asked the applicant, DivcoWest, to look at soil liquefaction, increasing pile foundation, if wind patterns might affect a nearby baseball field, and if more parking spots could be added for bay trail visitors. Some public speakers worried about the large building heights and how the city would address the jobs-housing imbalance from the project.
The area is a growing life science hub originally designed for large hotels, which have suffered from a lack of visitors during the pandemic. The city has instead focused on bringing in life science projects to the area, and it has already received three applications for life science buildings nearby. Cities like Foster City, Redwood City and others have looked to get involved in hosting life science developments near the Bayfront, with South San Francisco a local leader in life science development. The project would replace a Holiday Inn, deli-style restaurant Max’s of Burlingame, nightclub Caribbean Gardens, Se Come Asi Taqueria, office buildings and surface-level parking lots.
A project site that would turn four parcels into a single research and development campus at 1669 and 1699 Bayshore Highway and 810 and 821 Malcolm Road also satisfied the Planning Commission. The project site is bounded by Stanton Road to the south and Bayshore Highway to the east, while Malcolm Road will traverse the center of the campus, running east to west from Bayshore Highway. The north campus would have a seven-story building at 193,000 square feet, with the southern end having an eight-story 282,000-square-foot building. It calls for seven floors of covered parking on the south campus of around 909 spaces and 38 spaces on the north campus.
“I think it’s a fantastic project and looks very nice,” Commissioner Sean Lowenthal said. “I think it fits very well in that area. The scale and the sizing fit within the other buildings.”
Plans for the development campus indicate a public plaza and ground floor with restaurants open to the public. The commission was concerned about the large plaza size and lack of food options, wanting more than the proposed cafe and food trucks. It also wanted more public parking and traffic mitigation options for the Bay trail.
“When I saw it last, there were quite a few things I was concerned about, and I think you guys heard us and came back with a successful presentation of the information and addressing many of our concerns,” Commissioner John Schmid said.
(1) comment
congratulations Burlingame you have now given away all the bayfront property to the chemical giants of the Peninsula...where do iI go fishing now in the facebook prison..just what I was hoping for now the rest of the restaurants will be no more...brag about taking all the bay front property to silicon valley chemists. good job!
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