Burlingame Planning Commission gives positive review of Bayfront proposal

“This is the kind of project we’ve been looking for in this location,” said Planning Commission Chair John Schmid. The campus would occupy approximately 4.5 acres on properties between Malcolm and Stanton roads to the west of Old Bayshore Highway and on the northwest corner of Malcolm Road and Old Bayshore Highway. Addresses include 810 and 821 Malcolm Road and 1669 and 1699 Old Bayshore Highway.

Two other applications propose research and development projects to the south along Airport Boulevard near the Burlingame Lagoon. The projects would include a 13-story building at 777 Airport Blvd. and two nine-story buildings at 620 Airport Blvd. An eight-story research and development building at 567 Airport Blvd. was approved last year.

Plans for the Old Bayshore Highway project indicate a public plaza and ground floor with restaurants open to the public. The site is across the street from an access point to the Bay Trail and could provide a resting point with amenities to those using the trail. Plans call for 103 new trees to be planted on site.

The project site is currently home to four buildings that previously housed restaurants including Joe’s Cafe, Gulliver’s Prime Ribs of Beef and King of Thai Noodles. Tenants for the new development have yet to be identified, according to the city.

Between surface level parking and a seven-story garage, 875 spaces would be provided, 160 of which would be for electric vehicles. Plans show parking for 50 bicycles. Carpool and vanpool programs, and a partnership with the Burlingame Bayside shuttle for trips to public transit are identified as possible transportation solutions. The site is one mile from the Millbrae BART and Caltrain station.

Developers Helios Real Estate Partners and King Street Properties, collaborating as joint developers on the project, would pay more than $9.4 million in fees to the city to gain approval for the development. The majority of those fees would go toward subsidizing affordable housing in the city, other funding would go to infrastructure needs.

Foreshadowing more development in the area, developer DivcoWest recently purchased several Bayfront parcels at 1200, 1240 and 1250 Old Bayshore Highway for a combined $55.7 million, according to reporting from the Mercury News. The properties in question are currently home to deli-style restaurant Max’s of Burlingame, a Holiday Inn Express and an office building and parking lots.

Burlingame last year began allowing for more research and development buildings to accommodate companies in the biotechnology sector near the Bayfront. Previously, the area was designated largely for hotels from which the city gained a large portion of its revenue via its transition occupancy tax, a 12% charge of the cost to rent a room. With travel slowing to a crawl amid the pandemic, the city’s total revenue fell by 40%, sparking a rethinking of the substantial revenue stream.

Just west of the Bayfront on the other side of Highway 101 along Rollins Road the city is planning for several large apartment buildings slated to usher in upwards of 1,200 residents. Further down the road in adjacent Millbrae at least one biotech campus has been approved and another is under review.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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