New research lab set for Redwood Shores

Once complete, the project would likely serve a variety of businesses, including startups and incubators, rather than a single large company, said Rob Zirkle, an architect and principal planner for Prince Street Planners. Zirkle assured the commission what labs, if any, work in life sciences on site will be biosafety levels 1 and 2, ruling out levels 3 and 4 which work with more contagious agents or organisms.

“It’s an important factor, particularly if you think about the climate of the financial times we find ourselves in here, that we build buildings that are super flexible, that can last market cycles, and last durations,” Zirckle said. “Quality buildings will be occupied and full of life if they’re designed to be flexible and entertain many outcomes so this building is not intended to be a one note act where there is now some mythical single user circling.” 

Once built, the site will include about 198,000 square feet of office space, publicly accessible conference rooms, a total of 456 parking spots including surface level parking, tandem parking and valet parking. In addition to onsite open space access which will include access to a food truck program and games, the project will also include off-site improvements including a bike lane, crosswalk and lightning on Lagoon Drive, improvements to the Bay Trail and a $576,976 contribution toward improving Dolphin Park which is owned and maintained by the city. 

Leaders from various community groups including Iliana Garcia, director of Development with the Pal Center, and Georganne Morin, executive director of Healthy Cities Tutoring, also lauded Prince Street Planners for reaching out to groups to find ways to support their missions. 

While impressed by the support for the developer, commissioners said they’d like to see Prince Street Planners consult labor unions when developing the project and for them to continue building strong relationships with local organizations. 

“I would be delighted to see more projects like this and so far this year there’s been a really high bar for projects,” Planning Commissioner Anthony Lazarus said. “And it would be great if over time the relationships that you have with different types of organizations, community of course but also labor, just keep it into account and hopefully at the next one we can hear that everybody wants to work with you guys and work together.” 

Commissioners unanimously approved the proposal with one condition. They asked that the developer work with staff on possibly making Dolphin Drive safer for cyclists. Specifically, the commission asked that the current bike path which is currently designated by paint striping be changed into a separate and protected bicycle lane. 

Zirkle said the team is open to working with the city to develop potential bike safety improvements. He also signaled an openness to another recommendation by Commissioner Kimberly Koch to work with local artists when selecting proposed sculptures and potentially creating a rotating exhibit program. 

Commissioners also shared support for increasing the number of trees on site, swapping lawns for more drought resistance and permeable landscaping and adding raised crosswalks to help slow traffic. 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

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