Officials weighing Genentech growth in South City

Genentech, headquartered along Oyster Point since 1976, could nearly double the size of its existing 4.7-million-square-foot campus which currently spans more than 200 acres east of Highway 101.

Company representatives unveiled a proposed campus master plan update earlier this year, and city officials will host a public hearing during the upcoming meeting examining the associated potential environmental impacts.

As it stands, Genentech has crafted two scenarios — a reduced project which would cap development at 7.9 million square feet and a fuller development reaching the 9 million square foot threshold.

The discussion among planning commissioners arrives in advance of a deadline Monday, Dec. 23, for the public to respond to the draft environmental impact report which has been prepared for the campus expansion. Following the window closing, comments to the responses will be included in the final environmental document, expected to be published this spring, according to a city report.

Environmental issues which must be examined include traffic, pollution, noise and air quality. Considering the size of both development alternatives, officials have determined there is no way to avoid significant environmental impacts. The report also includes a no-growth alternative, though it is not preferred by the company.

Genentech officials filed paperwork kicking off the process of updating the company’s campus master plan this summer, which company officials had claimed is necessary to accommodate growth over the next two decades.

While there are still no specific proposals associated with the design, the company’s vision could create space for up to an additional 12,000 workers — more than twice the 10,000 currently located there.

Carla Boragno, a senior vice president and a facilities executive, had said the plan marks Genentech’s commitment to South San Francisco.

“We’re proud that our founders chose to call South San Francisco home more than 40 years ago. We are rooted in — and connected to — this city and its residents,” she said in a prepared statement earlier this year.

Should Genentech ultimately propose building to the fullest extent allowed under the proposed master plan update, developments would include 2.4 million square feet of new office space; 1.6 million square feet of new lab space; and .3 million square feet of amenities for employees, according to a company report.

Surface parking lots and buildings primed for redevelopment will be campus locations targeted for construction, according to the report, which also identifies an opportunity in “new buildings and/or parking structures constructed into existing hillsides within the campus, such that these new buildings can also serve as ‘bridges’ that link together upper and lower elevations of the campus.”

The proposed update would be the most recent in a series of revisions to the campus plan first established in 1995. It was initially updated in 2007, when a development cap was established at 6 million square feet. In 2013, the master plan was amended to make way for a 27-acre development.

Company officials are hopeful the new vision will catalyze Genentech’s further growth and expansion over the coming 20 years as a leader in the life sciences industry.

“The goal of the master plan update is to create a dynamic and future-looking development plan for the Genentech campus that promotes sustainability, is built for tomorrow’s workforce and can guide future campus-centered growth while providing needed flexibility to adapt, change and innovate,” according to a city report.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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