After more than 50 years across El Camino Real from San Mateo’s downtown, the nine-story Westlake office building at 520 S. El Camino Real is due for a facelift as the real estate company headquartered there opts to make seismic upgrades and revamp aging systems.
By replacing a concrete facade with a largely glass exterior, adding 6,379 square feet of new office space to the second and third floors of the structure and reconfiguring the building’s current layout to make way for amenities like two rooftop terraces, Westlake Urban is hoping much-needed improvements will provide an opportunity to modernize the building and bring it in line with active downtown uses, said development manager Donovan Cole.
Noting the downtown clustering of new businesses and buildings in recent years, Cole said he is hoping the renovation project will similarly enhance its surroundings.
“We’re just kind of participating in that [and] doing our part,” he said. “We’re excited about how it’s all going to look.”
Cole said plans for the renovation project arose from an initial effort to chart out tenant improvements, such as upgrades to the 127,092-square-foot building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. When the study revealed potential seismic issues with the building built in 1965 as well as aging elevator and mechanical systems, Cole said the developer opted to include several improvements in the plans, including additional space on the building’s second and third floors and rooftop decks on the second and fourth floors.
By building the new space on an western outcropping of the building’s first floor, Cole said the project would not significantly increase the building’s footprint and could better meet prospective tenants’ expectations of the types of layouts found in modern office buildings. Though the building’s new layout has yet to be finalized, Cole said a fitness center, cafe and shared conference rooms are among the amenities that could be included in the building once the renovation is finished. He added that the project will not increase the building’s height and could take some 14 to 18 months to complete.
Currently home to businesses offering a range of professional services, the building will be vacated before the renovation begins, which Cole expects could happen as early as the end of July should the city’s zoning administrator approve the plans this spring.
Cole said the developer has been in contact with neighbors of the building to discuss the changes, and that many have understood the building’s first major renovation in decades is necessary. Though Cole said no night work is planned and that construction crews are expected to follow city requirements, the developer welcomes the opportunity to discuss any concerns neighbors might have.
“We’re happily working with any neighbors to allay any of their concerns,” he said.
Cole said the developer is also looking forward to offering a more energy efficient building to prospective tenants when it reopens in 2020. With poor insulation from its concrete exterior, Cole said the building’s heating and cooling system runs far more often today than it is expected to after more sustainable systems and measures to enhance insulation measures, such as double-pane glass windows, are installed.
“This is a big project for Westlake, it’s important to us,” he said. “We’re trying to check all the right boxes.”
(2) comments
This is one of the most boring buildings in San Mateo. Enough with the steel, glass, and concrete boxes. Let's see some creativity.
Looking for some modernization of Downtown San Mateo, I love the area.
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