More South City housing slated for approval

The eight-story project slated to spread six floors of housing over a couple bottom floors of retail space and parking would be one of the first residential developments to offer purchasable units near Grand Avenue in decades.

Alex Greenwood, the city’s Community and Economic Development director, cited the project’s unique nature and said it is essential to achieving officials’ vision for a vibrant central district.

“The council is trying to achieve diversity and more choices for people who want to live near our Caltrain station and downtown,” said Greenwood.

Hisense, a real estate subsidiary of Sharp Electronics, purchased the property currently home to an office building from the city last month for $3.5 million. The project is the first proposed in the United States by the builder, and the plans will continue on to the South San Francisco City Council later for final approval.

A majority of the project is proposed to include 70 one-bedroom units, alongside an additional 22 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units. It also includes 109 parking spots, plus a courtyard and roof deck. In all, the project is expected to be about 190,000 square feet.

Under the state’s affordable housing policy, 20 of the units would be sold at below-market rates and, since the developer is seeking a density bonus, each of the units would be priced at 80 percent of the area median income or below.

Officials have said the project aligns well with the goals laid out by the downtown specific plan, aiming to add more housing and job opportunities in the city’s core commercial district, near the city’s train station.

Greenwood, who characterized the project as “complex and important,” pointed to the interest in building for-sale and affordable units as a sign of the success of the plan.

“It’s exciting to see the market doing its work and recognize the opportunity with this work,” he said.

Also part of that vision is the replacement of the existing South San Francisco Caltrain station with a new platform that connects to a pedestrian undercrossing designed to make it more accessible from downtown. The issue is slated to be discussed, as well as plans about the system’s forthcoming electrification, during a meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Embassy Suites, 250 Airport Blvd.

Considering the development’s proximity to the station, the developer is planning to pay toward encouraging residents to ride public transportation and cut down on car trips from the site. Initiatives considered to encourage alternative forms of transportation include Caltrain GoPasses and establishing an electric bike share program.

The project is one of nearly a dozen buildings proposed or under construction in the corridor bounded by the specific plan, which officials have said should lead to the development of as many as 500 new units.

Across the street from the Linden project is another development proposed at 255 Cypress Ave., where a 46-unit apartment building was approved by the City Council in 2015. A couple blocks away, the Pinefino development is under construction. It will offer 69 new units in a five-story tower. On the other side of Airport Boulevard from that project is a development offered at 150 Airport Blvd., which offers 157 units in another five-story project.

Noting the sizable amount of development expected or underway in just a few blocks, Greenwood recognized the concerns some residents may raise, but suggested the work is indicative of progress.

“It is a lot of development concentrated in a small area. But that area is currently vacant and largely underused. What you are seeing now is development happening away from existing residential patterns, and that is the least disruptive and most conducive to mass transit,” he said.

To ameliorate some of the frustrations commonly tied to development, Greenwood said officials are committed to getting feedback from those who live, work or own property near development areas.

Through a series of downtown community discussions, Greenwood said officials found most who attend are willing to live with the issues brought by building in favor of the long-term benefits.

“Overall, people realize that it’s a temporary inconvenience and that if we all work through it together, there will be new opportunities.”

The Planning Commission meets 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Municipal Services Building, Council Chambers, 33 Arroyo Drive.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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