News

With few open lots downtown, Burlingame officials have long shown interest in purchasing the U.S. Postal Service property at 341 Lorton Ave. Recently post office officials said the site — or a portion of it — could be put on the market. On Thursday, the Burlingame City Council met to discuss its vision for the site. Should it be put on the market, Burlingame is unlikely to have the cash to purchase the site. The meeting did give city officials a chance to discuss its vision in hopes of influencing possible developments.

“I don’t think it’s [a] pie-in-the-sky [idea] to put out what we want and look at creative ways to make it happen,” said Councilwoman Cathy Baylock. 

Baylock pointed to a desire to create something like Redwood City’s Courthouse Plaza, which has been used as a gathering place for outdoor events year-round. That development has revitalized the area, she said. Councilman Michael Brownrigg questioned maintaining a park-like setting compared to the more urban look of the Courthouse Square. Mayor Terry Nagel suggested the post office be used as a year-round farmers’ market.  

There are a number of issues to consider when it comes to the post office. First, it’s not actually for sale.

A conversation with Tina Moyer, U.S. Postal Service real estate disposition specialist for the Pacific and Southwest areas, revealed it’s likely at least a portion of the site would be for sale, City Manager Jim Nantell wrote in a June 1 staff report. A sale could be for a portion or the whole site. Should the building be included, the post office may require use of the building through a lease agreement.

If the entire site were to be sold, it would be an estimated 52,500 square feet. While no price has been listed, the city estimated it to be worth about $5 million, Nantell wrote.

That price tag is too steep for Burlingame unless there was an option to ask voters for a specific tax.

Councilwoman Ann Keighran agreed the space would be nice, but worried about the financial viability of the space. If the post office is historical, it limits the development possibilities.

“If it’s historical, we need to go in with this knowing there needs to be increased density,” said Keighran, who wanted officials to have realistic expectations. “If you only want open space, I can’t see how that would pencil out.”

Mark Farrar of Millennium Partners, one of the two developers who participated in the study session, saw the site as being great for mixed use with retail on the ground floor and up to three stories of residential or office space.

Tom Gilman of DES Architects added that using only the employee parking lot could be enough space to create a signature open space.

Vice Mayor Jerry Deal suggested giving guidelines for the city’s vision for the specific parcel in hopes of bringing development ideas that fit within it.

Some guidance for the area could be found in the city’s Downtown Specific Plan.

A creek runs under a portion of the property, which, under the plan, could one day be uncovered to create a unique town square-like space. If the lot including the building were to be put up for sale, the building could be used for civic purposes. The plan also outlines possible uses for the area including retail, personal services, business, offices and upstairs residential units.

More ideas could come in as early as Aug. 1 — the city’s deadline for ideas for developing the city-owned downtown parking lots. At the end of May, Burlingame requested ideas for the 20 parking lots throughout the area. Since officials said parking is extremely important to downtown’s vitality, the request for proposal states that any new developments must provide for the replacement of public parking spaces either at the development site or at another location so there will be no net loss of parking downtown. Interested developers were notified that the post office space may become available, Community Development Director Bill Meeker said.