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Home My WebLink AboutDRB 2015-12-08 #3Community Development Department -Planning Division Meeting Date: December 8, 2015 Case Numbers: ZC14-002/ UP14-052/ED14-097 Project Planner: Sean Kennings -(415) 533-2111 Agenda Item: REPORT TO DESIGN REVIEW BOARD SUBJECT: 755 Lindaro Street (San Rafael Corporate Center New Office Building) and 788 Lincoln Ave (Phase II Parking Structure expansion) -Review of final design details for the construction of a new of a 54-foot tall, four-story office building on the western parcel surface parking lot and a six story expansion of the approved 788 Lincoln parking structure of the San Rafael Corporate Center; APN: 013-012-39; Planned Development (PD1901) Zone; David McAdams, Applicant; BioMarin, Owner; Downtown Activity Center neighborhood area. SUMMARY The project is being referred to the Board as a consent calendar item to provide final review of the design for a new 54-foot tall, four-story office building on the western parcel surface parking lot and a six story expansion of the approved 788 Lincoln parking structure. Following the DRB's review and recommendation, the project was reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 25, 2015 and then ultimately approved by the San Rafael City Council on October 19, 2015. At the DRB's last review of the project on June 16, 2015, the Board was generally pleased with the project design and recommended approval of the project design with certain conditions for minor design changes. The Board asked that th.eir recommendations be studied and return as a consent item prior to issuance of a building permit. The consensus items are as follows: • Revise upper story windows on the east and north elevations to decrease pilaster width and increase window width. • Decrease the width of the second and third floor windows on the south and east elevations of the tower at the southeast corner of the building to align with the windows at the fourth level. • Revise locations of horizontal score lines on elevations. • Revise design of the entry portico at the south end of the garage. • Address steps to make the mid block crosswalk on Lincoln pedestrian safe. Based on the DRB's June 16, 2015 comments, the applicant has studied the recommendations and submitteq revised plans to address the Board's consensus items. Staff recommends that the applicant has addressed the Board's consensus item and requests that the Board review the final design details and provide their final recommendation. BACKGROUND Site Description & Setting: The proposed 755 Lindaro office building site, Parcel 1 of the SRCC, consists of approximately 2.66- acres and is bordered by the 775 Lindaro Street parking structure to the north and a PG&E substation and Albert Lofts Apartments to the west/northwest. Andersen Drive is located south of the project site and Albert's Park baseball field is south across Andersen. The 755 Lindaro site is currently a surface parking lot that serves the greater San Rafael Corporate Center as well as public events, most notably parking for the San Rafael Pacific's baseball team. The proposed 788 Lincoln Avenue LPG2 parking expansion structure site, Parcel 8, is currently under construction of the Parking Garage Phase 1. The first phase of the parking structure will cover approximately 60% of the northern portion of the project site. Parcel 8 consists of approximately 2.4- acres and is bordered by Second Street on the north and Lincoln Avenue on the west. Mahon Creek is located east and south of the project site. Vehicular access to the parking lot is provided from Lincoln Avenue near the Mahon Creek Bridge. History: The Applicant, BioMarin, a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Rafael is in the process of completing the remaining structures approved under the 1998 Master Plan approved by the City .. In early 2014, final approval was granted for a fifth building (Building E, also referred to as NLB1) on the center parcel and for a parking structure (Lincoln Parking Garage Phase 1 or LPG1) on the east parcel. These two projects are currently under construction and are anticipated to be completed late in 2015. BioMarin is the sole owner and the largest tenant of the SRCC campus where it maintains its corporate headquarters. BioMarin intends to ultimately occupy the entire campus. In 2014, BioMarin started exploring a new project to amend the Master Plan to add another building and associated parking to the campus. BioMarin proposed to develop a new four-story, 72,396 square foot office building on Parcel 1 of the San Rafael Corporate Center (SRCC) campus. Parcel 1, which is currently developed as surface parking, is located to the west of Lindaro Street and to the south of the existing Parking Garage at 775 Lindaro. To support the parking requirements for the proposed new office building a Phase 2 addition is proposed to the approved Lincoln Parking Garage (LPG1) on Parcel 8 of the SRCC located at 788 Lincoln Avenue, which would add 256 structured stalls and 41 . surface stalls to the already under construction garage. The proposed building & parking structure and associated site developments were designed to be compatible with the architectural character of the current SRCC campus and in compliance with the established design, planning and development goals of the City of San Rafael. The Board reviewed the project as a conceptual review item on September 16, 2014 and then two times as a formal application (on May 19 and June 16, 2015). At the conclusion of the June 16, 2015 meeting, the Board found the project design acceptable and supported the overall project design in terms of design, mass and scale. Therefore, the Board unanimously voted to recommend approval the project design as proposed, with a few minor design recommendations that were required to return as a consent item prior to issuance of a building permit The project was subsequently reviewed by the Planning Commission on August 25, 2015 and recommended approval to the City Council. On October 19, 2015, the City Council reviewed the project, accepted the recommendation of the ORB and Commission and ultimately approved the project. In late November 2015, the applicant submitted their application for building permits; therefore, they have submitted the final design details to address the ORB's consensus items for review and approval before the issuance of the permit CONSENSUS ITEMS I PROJECT MODIFICAT.IONS As mentioned above, the consensus items requested by the Board have been addressed by the applicant and design modifications have been as suggested. Each of the items requested to be reviewed on consent are listed below in bold, and are followed by the applicant's changes and a staff discussion: 2 1. Revise upper story windows on the east and north elevations to decrease pilaster width and increase window width. The applicant studied the upper story windows on the north and east elevations and widened the windows on the north elevation and the northern portion of the east elevation. The remaining bays of the east elevation have irregularly spaced columns due to the conditions at the ground plane. The applicant determined that the previously proposed window spacing was the best option (See Exhibit 2: page 2 and 4). 2. Decrease the width of the second and third floor windows on the south and east elevations of the tower at the southeast corner of the building to align with the windows at the fourth level. The applicant has made this change. (See Exhibit 2, page 3 and 4). 3. Revise locations of horizontal score lines on elevations. The applicant studied the score lines and realigned several of the joints for better detailing and more consistency with the adjacent buildings (See Exhibit 2, pages 2, 3, 4, and 5). 4. Revise design of the entry portico at the south end of the garage. The applicant has proposed a more streamlined entry feature that includes a supported canopy. This design is lighter and more consistent with other canopies on the campus than the previously proposed column supported structure (See Exhibit 2, page 6). 5. Address steps to make the mid block crosswalk on Lincoln pedestrian safe. The midblock crosswalk on Lincoln was approved as part of the Phase 1 garage project. As requested, BioMarin has agreed to install a more highly visible 'ladder' style crosswalk and post mounted solar powered flashing pedestrian crossing signals at both curbs (See Exhibit 2, page 7). These proposed improvements will be reviewed by Public Works for approval at building permit submittal. CONCLUSION Staff has reviewed the changes and recommends that the applicant has respohded to the Board's June 16, 2015 consensus items. In addition, the applicant has made additional revisions to the overall project that responded to requests by the Board and the Planning Commission, including incorporating a landscaped pedestrian path adjacent to Mahon Creek, and studying the possibility of a permanent ·secondary exit from the parking garage. Overall, staff agrees that the revised project design addresses the concerns of the Board and is consistent with the overall design aesthetic of the San Rafael Corporate Center. Staff requests that the Board review the final design, provide comments and make a motion to approve the design of the proposed parking structure. Following a positive DRB review, the condition of approval related to the final design review of the consensus item will be completed. EXHIBITS 1. Vicinity Map 2. Design Review Board Consent Items Project Plans -November 20, 2015 (Distributed to ORB members only) cc: David McAdams DGA Architects 201 Filbert Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94133 3 12/3/2015 .' , --. :' --, I 700 I 1 __ -/ -------_J ----------'''-' " -.. _-- 0 WlL.DLAND • URBAN INTEl .. 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