SAN MATEO, CA—Bay Meadows was designed to allow homeowners to set the parking brake on Friday evenings and not have to drive again for the weekend. Whether they need groceries, want to enjoy a picnic, plant vegetables in the community garden, or take a train for a night out in San Francisco, residents can do it all, car-free. Its 1,500 residents can also walk down the block on weekdays to catch a train to an office in Silicon Valley, San Francisco or any destination served by Caltrain. Or, they can walk to work at the adjacent LEED-certified office buildings.

The urban village plan includes 1,150 units of housing, 780,000 square feet of LEED-certified office space, 40,000 square feet of retail and 18 acres of open space, representing downtown style and environmentally friendly living. The community's Delaware Street is envisioned as a social hub, an intersection of work and play, according to Bay Meadows' owner Stockbridge Capital Group and developer Wilson Meany.

“We've coined Delaware Street as 'social street,'” Elizabeth Billante, Wilson Meany vice president of investment management and development, tells GlobeSt.com. “It's the third piece of the live work play component. We are giving residents a full experience; somewhere they want to return and gather as a community.”

Progress at Bay Meadows continues on track, with SurveyMonkey moving its headquarters to Station 4 this past December; two new apartment buildings welcoming new tenants in the next month; fewer than 30 remaining townhomes for sale at Bay Meadows and a sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Jeppe Hein is being installed in the Town Square.

The latest news is boutique fitness studio LIFT is expanding from its San Jose location. LIFT will occupy 4,600 square feet on the ground floor of Station 4 and is targeting an opening date in June. LIFT was represented by Marie Andersen of CBRE. Matt Holmes and AJ Schrader of Retail West represented Bay Meadows.

The Bay Meadows' team employs retail curation expertise to bring in local retail tenants to differentiate this mixed-use community rather than a typical cookie-cutter lease up. As with its redevelopment of the San Francisco Ferry Building, Wilson Meany is carefully curating the mix for the 40,000-square-foot retail program in Bay Meadows. As with previously announced tenants, Blue Bottle Coffee, Tin Pot Creamery and Fieldwork Brewing Company, LIFT is a homegrown business that sees an opportunity to be part of a community, which gives this a uniqueness not found in other developments.

“We are targeting locally bred, community-focused retailers with a commitment to place,” says Billante. “This will continue to be our focus as we fill out the remaining retailers in the project.”

Bay Meadows recently announced that the front yard of Station 4 (LIFT's new facility) will feature a beer garden run by Fieldwork Brewing Company. The growing cohort of artisanal purveyors at Bay Meadows will include an announcement of a new eatery expected soon. The neighborhood's retail is situated in a mix of pocket parks and traditional street-front spaces, with the Town Square at the heart of the community. The Russell and Quimby, two new apartment buildings adjacent to this central plaza, will open in the next few weeks.

The transit-oriented development is 60% complete, with residents moved into townhomes and apartments, the Nueva School serving high school students, companies housed in office space, gardeners working in the community garden, visitors enjoying public art and neighbors utilizing 18 acres of parks and open space.

Instant Insights /

The Future of Suburban Retail is Artisanal

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