A new 137-foot, eight-story life science building is moving forward in the heart of the city’s Bayfront area, as the South San Francisco Planning Commission approved the project’s California Environmental Quality Act and design review requirements on Thursday, Oct. 19.
The 573 Forbes Blvd. property was purchased by Vigilant Holdings and SmartLabs — the former of which acquired another South San Francisco property at Eccles Avenue last year — and will add to the city’s existing life science hub, which includes Genentech, AstraZeneca, AbbVie and Amgen.
The eight-story, 246,234-square-foot structure will house both office and lab space for research and development, in addition to an eight-story parking garage with 470 parking stalls. The 2.8-acre land parcel currently supports a single-story warehouse.
City staff and the applicant team, including Vigilant Holdings, DGA Architects and Studio 5 Design, presented the project details to the commission, including parking capacity, landscape architecture plans and design elements. As a Tier 3 project under the Transportation Demand Management program, it is also subject to annual monitoring to ensure a maximum of 60% of employees commute via driving alone.
“I would prefer to see even less parking to incentivize non-car transits,” said Planning Commissioner John Baker, also noting that the air pollution levels on the east side of the city are particularly burdensome. “We need to consider that in future east of 101 projects."
Commissioner Sam Shihadeh also noted traffic concerns, particularly around peak commuting times.
“Let's hope it works. There is going to be a lot of traffic on Forbes when everything gets fully developed,” he said.
However, the commission agreed that the initiative meets all design requirements and aligned with the city’s 2040 General Plan environmental impact review updates.
The project is also subject to the city’s development impact fees, which are a significant contributor for several public programs, such as child care and public safety. An estimated $17 million in impact fees will be generated, with a large percentage allocated toward transportation and affordable housing development.
573 Forbes also proposed a floor area ratio above the zone’s limit, which requires taking on a community benefits fee. The city relies largely on such fees to ensure the economic benefits of new life science firms are also passed on to local residents.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2024 with a scheduled completion date around the beginning of 2026, according to Vigilant Holdings’ website.
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