Life science plans rise in San Carlos

Premia Capital, a Redwood City based development company founded by Mike Halow, plans to build a three-story, 190,000-square-foot life science development at 1021 Howard Ave., where three single-story office buildings currently sit.

Once complete, the building would form a U-shape around an entry plaza fronting Bayport Avenue. A publicly accessible cafe and 3,436-square-foot retail space will be on the ground floor with two levels of parking underground.

Looking at the 1021 Howard Ave. site, Halow and Rob Zirkle, the founding principal of the architecture firm Brick, said their aim was to create a project that was warm and inviting to passersby while acting as a bridge between the Industrial Arts and Eastside Innovation districts.

“It is a very interesting architectural opportunity and urban opportunity to be sited where this is between the East Side Innovation zone and the Industrial Arts District, two different grains, two different typologies so we want to create an architectural proposition that deals with both of those,” Zirkle said.

Having met with nearby business owners, many from automotive and repair based industries that are shrinking on the Peninsula, Halow said Permia wanted to support the trades by investing $1.5 million to Redwood High School. Halow noted the institution largely serves socioeconomically disadvantaged students and offers them programming in various crafts. With the funds, Halow said the school could expand its programming.

Halow and Zirkle are also behind a 96,000-square-foot research site for MBC BioLabs. That project, called Brittan West, was approved by the commission last July and will sit at the intersection of Industrial Road and Brittan Avenue.

“For us, we take these projects obviously very seriously and they just have to be as perfect as we can make them before we even go out to the community at all,” Halow told commissioners. “We want that experience for people to be good.”

Commissioners largely offered high praise for the 1021 Howard Ave. project. Garvey lauded the drought-resistant landscaping incorporated into the plans and Commissioner Kristen Clements asserted the future building will be a better use of the site than the existing office buildings.

While most comments were positive, Commissioner David Roof shared some concern the new structure — which takes up much of the lot space after accounting for mandated setbacks — would create an additional tight wall along Howard Avenue similar to a Lucky Grocery store across the street.

But Roof also said the effect was not a deal breaker for him given the other positive attributes of the project. Commission Chair Jim Iacaponi acknowledged Roof’s concerns but said he felt comfortable with the design because much of the building’s facade includes large windows that could create a more open feeling.

With roughly 2 million square feet of development coming to San Carlos, much of it concentrated in the city’s Eastside Innovation District, commissioners praised the Halow and Zirkle for a proposal they said serves as a model for future projects.

“It’s a very good first bar,” Iacaponi said. “And if we ask future developers to meet and go over that one I think we’re off to a good start.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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