San Bruno Tanforan redesign relocates Target

Nemeth acknowledged that the redesign comes some time after the original plan unveiling in October 2022. The development company had been attempting to meet strict airspace zoning regulations for nearby San Francisco International Airport and prepare for its upcoming California Environmental Quality Act environmental impact review, she said.

“If you recall the prior plan it’s really not that different, so why has it taken so long to come to this?” Nemeth said. “This is iterative of, it’s a very long project. It takes a long time to work through and think through all of the pieces.”

Councilmember Marty Medina — who previously advocated for the city to override San Francisco International Airport airspace height concerns to meet the city’s housing element requirements for new housing units — asked how the city can support height flexibility for proposed buildings, including a potential ballot initiative.

The housing height issue is being studied across the city, Assistant City Manager Darcy Smith said, although the carrying capacity of the site cannot be adjusted indiscriminately to increase housing units.

The plan’s new approach — a response to a fluctuating real estate market and prices — will leave two spaces open for flexibility, but remains committed to a minimum of 1,000 units of new housing, a new Target, life sciences campus, and central space with surrounding retail units. The flexible spaces could potentially outfit more housing or a hotel, depending on the market, Nemeth said.

Nemeth also fielded questions about the Target move, which would see the store relocate from its current location on the Huntington Avenue side of Tanforan. Target will have to agree to the proposal for it to move forward.

Ideally, the old Target location would remain open as demolition on the mall occurred and the new Target was being built, she said.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities remains committed to the project despite delays, Senior Vice President Jesse Nelson said.

“Alexandria remains very committed to this project, no question. There’ve been a number of macroeconomic challenges that have impacted projects like this and make big projects like this harder to undertake over the past year, including higher interest rates and supply and demand imbalance,” he said. “That said, we think Tanforan is a pretty special site that we’re committed to long term.”

The success of the project is an integral part of San Bruno’s future, Smith emphasized.

“It’s important to our future as an economic engine. This isn’t just about creating really attractive buildings and creating jobs, it’s about creating an economic driver for the city’s future through property tax revenue, sales tax revenue … and more importantly we have to provide housing,” Smith said.

The California Environmental Quality Act Notice of Preparation for the project was released Dec. 15 and the Tanforan Public Engagement Center will host open house events in early 2024.