Millbrae station design sparks heated exchange

Though no decision was made during the meeting, tensions flared when Papan offered criticism which an executive with development firm Republic Urban felt were unfair and unfounded.

“It does nothing for me,” said Papan, according to video of the meeting. “It looks like I’m driving into the projects.”

The comment drew pushback from Kelly Erardi, senior vice president with Republic Urban, who said he would not stand for suggesting the development appeared similar to a ghetto.

“This is a $400 million project. We’ll take your comments and we’re here to take your comments, but to a limit. We’ve created a great project here,” he said.

The clash was the most recent in a long history of exposed tensions between Papan and the developer, tracking back at least to a previous election when the company funded opposition to her campaign.

Erardi’s feedback invited further criticism from Papan, who doubled down on her opinion that the development’s design was too ordinary and unremarkable for a site she considered iconic.

“I don’t think we should be settling,” she said.

Not all opinions of the development were so critical though, as Councilwoman Anne Oliva suggested she was largely comfortable with much of the proposed design.

“It’s very appealing,” she said, suggesting the development would fit well in its placement as Millbrae transitions from neighborhoods on the hill to downtown and a larger, more dense district near El Camino Real and the train station.

Councilwoman Ann Schneider was less critical of the project as well, while Papan’s opinion that the design appeared ordinary seemed to resonate with Vice Mayor Reuben Holober.

“I’m interested in seeing what the unique elements are,” said Holober, suggesting he would favor the design integrating landmark elements while expressing appreciation for the general architectural theme.

Mayor Wayne Lee too suggested many of the residential buildings were unoriginal, calling the design monolithic and asking the architect to consider getting more creative with the look.

Officials were generally more supportive of the commercial development’s design as well as the proposed public art than they were the residential architecture.

Republic Urban is planning to build 150,000 square feet of offices, nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space, 400 new housing units and a hotel abutting the city’s train station. Of the housing units, 80 are proposed in a standalone project to be reserved for military veterans.

The development is adjacent to the Serra Station project earlier this year, which aims to add 444 housing units, more than 270,000 square feet of offices and up to approximately 30,000 square feet of retail space in three towers up to 10 stories nearby.

Both projects were approved by councilmembers last year, and are now working their way through design review. Plans still needed to be blessed by the Planning Commission as well as City Council before they can move into construction.

After nearly two hours of deliberation on the Republic Urban plans, officials agreed more details of the project need additional consideration and the development team will return for further discussion later.

For his part, Erardi said he appreciated the more constructive feedback offered by officials and the development team will amend plans to reflect the recommendations.

“We appreciate the comments and are excited about moving this along,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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