January 31, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- Affordable housing in the Bay Area can be an issue when it comes to recruiting by area pharma companies. But, the developer of a large mixed use site called The Landing at Oyster Point has included more than 1,100 residential units as part of the proposed development.
The need for housing is a growing concern in the Bay Area, particularly as it relates to the life sciences industry. The Times noted that industry leaders anticipate the addition of approximately 18,000 jobs within the next three years. With the current high cost of housing and long commute times, industry recruiters have expressed concern over the future, the Times said.
As the Bay Area continues to shine as a jewel in the West Coast for the pharma industry, more and more companies are establishing a presence there. Most recently, Merck announced plans to set up West Coast headquarters in South San Francisco.
In addition to the 1,191 residential units, the development will also include 22,000 square-feet of retail space, as well as 2.25 million square feet of office and research laboratory space, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Taotao Song, chief executive officer of Oyster Point Development LLC said the plans for the development were altered to include the residential units due to the “growing demand for housing in the region,” the Times reported.
The proposed development plan includes 514 one-bedroom units, 479 two-bedroom units and 198 three-bedroom units, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported.
The proposed development plan includes 514 one-bedroom units, 479 two-bedroom units and 198 three-bedroom units, the San Mateo Daily Journal reported.
The median price for a single-family home in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties is over $1 million. Average rent for an apartment in San Francisco is $3,768, with one bedroom apartments averaging $3,357 and two-bedroom apartments averaging $4,487.
Ground has yet to be broken on The Landing at Oyster Point, but the developers hope to do so soon, the Journal said. South San Francisco City Manager Mike Futrell told the Journal the addition of residential units would serve the area well, as people like to live near where they work. Also, Futrell said the units would help relieve traffic congestion in the area.
Much like Boston on the East Coast, San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area has become a thriving hub for the pharma and biotech industries. A number of developments have sprung up in the area to provide homes for these innovative companies, including BioMed Realty’s Gateway of the Pacific project–a proposed 1.3 million square foot campus that will include ample office and laboratory space. The first phase of the project is scheduled to develop about 500,000 square feet. Another life sciences development in the area is The Cove, one of the biggest real estate developments of life science industries in the Bay Area. The Cover broke ground last year. The development is South San Francisco’s first ground-up multi-tenant life science development in close to a decade. When complete, the Cove is planned to be an 884,000 square foot, fully integrated, waterfront campus located on Oyster Point Boulevard in South San Francisco. The campus design consists of seven buildings ranging in size from 102,000 square feet to 158,000 square feet in both single- and multi-tenant building configurations. The first phase of the project, consisting of two buildings totaling 253,000 square feet, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016. Construction has already started on the second phase.
