SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA—A mixed-use community at 988 El Camino Real will serve as the gateway to the El Camino Real/Chestnut area. It is located on a 1.67-acre site spread across four parcels at the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue, across from the future site of the Community Civic Campus, adjacent to the Centennial Way Trail and less than a mile from the South San Francisco BART station.

It is being developed by SummerHill Apartment Communities and designed by KTGY Architecture + Planning.

“The architectural intent is to create an elegant building that blends references to the industrial past of South San Francisco with a more contemporary language,” said Sara Fernandez, director of planning for KTGY's Los Angeles office, who presented the design plan to the city council. “It is our hope that the new development, in conjunction with the new Community Civic Campus, will serve as a catalyst for future transit-oriented development in the area.”

The new development is to include 172 apartment homes ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom units. The ground floor of the six-story building is designed to include nearly 11,000 square feet of retail space centered around a corner plaza, plus a variety of amenities such as a lounge, fitness studio, bike hub, dog park and spur trail connecting to Centennial Way. On the first residential level above, there will be a club room for residents as well as two courtyards with spa, fire pits, outdoor kitchen and dining areas, and lounge areas.

The design incorporates the use of brick streetwalls. The use of brick streetwalls are designed to mimic a traditional commercial storefront in scale, materials and detailing, while the residential levels above are stepped back, allowing pedestrian-oriented spaces and the corner tower to be the emphasis, says Fernandez. The setbacks are generous compared to what's being built in the vicinity, with plenty of space for street furniture and landscaping to make this a pedestrian-friendly environment, GlobeSt.com learns.

Parking is carefully hidden behind storefronts, landscape screening and in the basement. Commercial and visitor parking will be at the ground level, offering 47 spaces. Resident parking will be secured underground, offering 212 spaces. The development is served by SamTrans, which connects to the BART station. Additionally, 130 bike parking spaces, as well as electric vehicle charging stations, will be provided in convenient locations. Centennial Way has a class I bike lane, which provides a connection to the BART station.

The land owner, Fred Bravo, spoke in favor of the development at the city council hearing, conveying a heartfelt message of how the family legacy in South San Francisco will proudly live on with the proposed design. The site is currently being occupied by South City Car Wash, which is expected to remain open until construction begins in early 2019. The vacant lot to the north is the future site of the civic center.

“In planning the site, it was our goal to arrange a mix of retail, high-density residential and public open space in a harmonious manner that best responds to the context and site opportunities,” Fernandez tells GlobeSt.com. “We've enhanced this corner by wrapping two frontages with retail space and providing a public plaza to provide relief and visibility.”

SummerHill plans to build an outdoor fitness park available to the public, comprised of seven fitness stations which would be accessible from Centennial Way trail, according to Elaine Breeze, SummerHill's vice president of development and project lead.

“Additionally, SummerHill will be part of the installation of a signalized high-visibility crosswalk providing a safe pedestrian and bike crossing from Centennial Way Trail to the future civic campus across Chestnut,” Breeze says. “The crosswalks at the intersection of El Camino Real, Chestnut Avenue and Westborough Boulevard will also be upgraded to high-visibility striping.”

Instant Insights /

Mixed-Use Project Gets City Council Nod

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