Prime development officially on hold

Once slated to be a high school, the city decided long ago not to pursue that use for the land and instead seek uses for the 15 acres that would accommodate the city’s aging population and provide retail opportunities.

Pacific Retirement Services started returning about $600,000 in deposits in February to families and individuals who signed up to live in the Mirabella retirement community.

PRS’s exclusive development deal ended two days ago because the developer couldn’t secure the $300 million in financing to build even the first phase of the project, said Brain McLemore, PRS’s executive vice president.

"We looked at extending the deal. Rather than drag things on, we decided to bring it to close,” McLemore said.

PRS, however, has not closed the door on building a Mirabella in Foster City in the distant future.

"We would be interested. We would be happy to work with the city if a new RFP (request for proposals) process is undertaken,” McLemore said.

The San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District called at least a portion of the 15-acre site ideal for the construction of a new elementary school to accommodate at least 400 more students expected in Foster City in the next few years.

In fact, the district’s Board of Trustees met in closed session last night to discuss land acquisition for a potential new school.

"We are continuing to explore all options to handle the space needed for our incoming students both in Foster City as well as certain neighborhoods in San Mateo,” said Joan Rosas, the school district’s assistant superintendent of human resources.

Trustee Mark Hudak said the city must decide if its long-term plans include a school for the site.

"It is clear the district needs a new school,” Hudak said. "If the city is open to having a school there, we are definitely interested. We wouldn’t need the whole site. Six acres would be plenty for us.”

The city does not intend to start another request for proposals for the property yet, said Richard Marks, Foster City’s community development director.

"Even though PRS couldn’t put the financing together for the project due to the very difficult financial markets and very depressed real estate economy, the City Council believes that we had the right developer for the project and it is still committed to the land uses envisioned by Mirabella — senior-oriented housing; neighborhood-serving retail; and, public open space,” Marks said in an e-mail.

Councilman Charlie Bronitsky was on the Planning Commission four years ago when the vision to build a mixed-use senior complex was formed.

"My very first meeting was a joint City Council-Planning Commission meeting and we came up with a vision that was mixed use with a focus on senior housing with downtown-style features like sidewalk restaurants and local style retail. I am still envisioning that as the focus for the site,” Bronitsky said in an e-mail.

Considering the bad economy, Bronitsky would rather have the city wait for the right opportunity rather than rush into finding a new developer or use for the land.

The City Council recognizes that it is not in the city’s best interest to conduct a land transaction during a recession, Marks said.

"It looks for now like the city will be patient and wait for the right economic and financial climate and then try to find a partner to develop the basic land-use concepts envisioned in the Mirabella San Francisco Bay/Parkview Plaza Project,” Marks said.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.