Artist’s rendering of a new plaza at the redeveloped Shops at Tanforan. The current proposal includes 2 million square feet of life science and office space, along with 1,000 housing units.
The community is being asked for input on grand plans to redevelop the 44-acre Shops at Tanforan into a mixed-use village with 2 million square feet of life science and office space and 1,000 units of housing and retail.
The proposal would mean the end of the San Bruno shopping mall, itself on the site of a former race track. Included in the plans are a Target, a movie theater and nine life science buildings. Those plans started taking shape in February, when Alexandria Real Estate completed the purchase of the three separately owned private parcels that make up the shopping center. Terezia Nemeth, executive vice president, regional market director of San Francisco Bay Area for Alexandria Real Estate, spoke during a City Council meeting, Oct. 25, of the guiding principles that the developer is using to navigate the project forward.
“The first is to create a true mixed-use transit based village, to create a vibrant place for people to shop and come together and enjoy themselves,” Nemeth said. And “to, obviously, provide ... a significant component of affordable housing, which the community much needs.”
The San Bruno City Council put an emphasis on community engagement during the meeting while planning the details of the sprawling site just north of Interstate 380 and between El Camino Real and the train tracks.
“I really want to encourage the public and our residents here in San Bruno to participate in this process,” Councilmember Tom Hamilton said.
A website, TanforanforSanBruno.com, was created with information on future in-person meetings and to provide virtual input through surveys and exercises. It will also provide a timeline and history of the site. The developers are currently building an engagement center, which is slated to open in November and remain through 2023. Residents are encouraged to visit the storefront and participate in engagement exercises and pop-up events. Additional office hours and small informational and participatory meetings will also be held there.
“It is important that people stay engaged and understand what is going on and there is going to be ample opportunity for that,” Hamilton said.
All of the input accumulated will feed into a community priorities report that will be presented at a City Council meeting in 2023. Emphasizing transparency, the city plans to organize the feedback, provide analysis and continue the engagement process through the year.
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The preliminary project application proposes dividing the site into a mixed-use area and a life science campus. Target and the movie theater, Century at Tanforan, will remain on the mixed-use side and serve as the anchors for a central retail village of about 80,000 to 90,000 square feet. The village will be organized around courtyards, plazas and open spaces to create a new neighborhood center.
“This really fits into the larger vision of the future of San Bruno and what it can and will be,” San Bruno Vice Mayor Linda Mason previously said of the site plans.
Target will be rebuilt at the corner of El Camino Real and Sneath Lane, with dedicated parking under the store. According to the application plan, the developer will upgrade the movie theater with a new entrance, stairs, escalators, elevators and additional retail spaces. Approximately 400,000 square feet of open space is proposed, similar to the central green and village gardens at Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo. A pedestrian and bicycle access path will run from El Camino Real along the edge of Target through the new retail area to the San Bruno BART station. The new Tanforan Memorial honoring Japanese Americans detained at the former Tanforan race track before being sent to internment camps during World War II will also remain.
The 1,000 housing units will be organized into three clusters, including an affordable housing community managed by the nonprofit housing group MidPen Housing. The site will also help address state housing mandates the city must meet. The city must create zoning plans for more than 3,600 homes in its next Regional Housing Needs Allocation, required by the state as part of the Bay Area’s housing obligations. The Association of Bay Area Governments, a regional planning agency, sets the RHNA. The city has been interested in redevelopment given the rise of online shopping and the pandemic.
The city review process for the application will likely take 18 months to two years. The first phase of development would likely include the residential and retail village section, with the life science campus development dependent on tenant demand. There will be a City Council community meeting in November.
Residents with questions can email tanforan@sanbruno.ca.gov. Updates and information can also be found on Facebook or Instagram @tanforanForSanBruno and on Twitter at @TanforanForSB.
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