On April 21st, The University of California at Berkeley celebrated the grand opening of the cutting-edge and newly re-envisioned Grimes Engineering Center. The formal Bechtal engineering building served as a foundation for the expanded project, a 35,500 two-story glass pavilion with a three-level open forum at its center. Skidmore Owning and Merill are responsible for the design, with PGA Design responsible for landscaping.
The new Brisbane Baylands site development plan reported on by SF YIMBY last week is set to include more than 157 acres of open space in addition to the other developed areas. The open space areas will include urban plazas, community parks, hiking and recreation areas, and flood protection buffer areas. Beyond the 157 acres, the plan also sets aside several large open areas for sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy generation.
Last week, the City of Brisbane’s proposal for the Baylands development area was opened for public review through the CEQA application page. The specific site plan, developed in partnership with the Metis Environmental Group and Environmental Science Associates, is a sweeping redevelopment of more than 680 acres along Highway 101 and the Caltrain tracks between San Francisco and South San Francisco.
Early last month the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the proposed redevelopment of Embarcadero Park along the Financial District’s waterfront. The decision comes after voters approved Proposition B last November, providing up to 41 million towards the redevelopment of multiple parks in the San Francisco Downtown neighborhoods.
In a major pivot, developer Jay Paul Co. has decided to convert a large portion of the ongoing CityView Plaza project from office to residential. The site, at the northeast corner of Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue in Downtown San Jose, will transform an existing four-office building campus into 320 units, rebooting construction on the project which paused last year due to poor market conditions.
