The San Carlos City Council approved plans for two new life science research and development buildings that could bring in new revenue to the city and adds to the industrial eastside area’s development queue that has grown with development proposals in recent years.
Located at 789 Old County Road, the project includes two buildings, one four stories and approximately 69 feet, and the second five stories at 85 feet. The two buildings amass a combined 326,648 square feet. A parking garage is also proposed at 65 feet tall, providing 694 parking spaces.
The development site is located within the city’s Eastside Innovation District Vision Plan, which was adopted by the City Council in 2021 and provides a framework for future growth in the transforming neighborhood.
Councilmembers gave minimal additional requests to the development agreement, particularly around increased privacy measures for current and future nearby residents. The east side of the development is slated to see an influx of housing in coming years that should be accounted for, Mayor Sara McDowell said.
“It is a tricky area of town where residential is going to be abutting really large developments and construction is going to be really impactful so I would like to see us try to reduce that impact as much as possible,” McDowell said.
The proposed developer of the 3.4 acres of land, the Minkoff Group, submitted initial plans for the site in July 2022 that have since adapted to community feedback and committee responses. Updated plans include shorter buildings and increased on-site greenery.
The developers agreed to contribute $4.2 million in fiscal contributions to the city and off-site improvements — including upgrades to Old County Road and a new traffic light at the intersection with Bransten Road.
Amenities include establishing a fund for tree planting for nearby residents that is valued at $30,000, solar panels on the building roofs and public access to the open space plaza located between the two buildings. There will be approximately $11.6 million in impact fees paid by the developer once build permits are issued.
The city is also estimated to receive $674,000 annually in property, sales and business registration tax revenue with the development.
Nearby residents have raised concern over building height and the noise of construction, but approved and proposed building heights and distance to nearby residential areas are comparable. Traffic consultant Mark Spencer also addressed congestion concerns and said there will undoubtedly be an influx of traffic in the area, but other measures will ease the impact.
“You’re going to have real nice connectivity between Caltrain, the bike facilities, long-term bike parking,” Spencer said “Overall, this project is in pretty good shape in terms of what it’s doing for transportation and the ability to manage that.”
The City Council unanimously approved the proposal, adopted the negative declaration of environmental impact and development agreement.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.