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OCII approves plan amendments for 1450 Owens to allow 109-foot life‑sciences building with $1.5M school endowment
Summary
The San Francisco OCII commission approved a package of six actions to allow Alexandria Real Estate Equities to develop a ~170,000-sq.-ft. life‑sciences building on Block 43 Parcel 7 (1450 Owens). The developer commits roughly $12.2 million in one‑time fees, enhanced SBE participation and a $1.5 million school endowment; votes were unanimous except one item recorded as 3 ayes, 1 absent.
The San Francisco Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure commission on Nov. 17 approved a set of plan amendments and CEQA findings to permit a 7‑story, 109‑foot, roughly 170,000 leasable‑square‑foot life‑sciences building at 1450 Owens in Mission Bay South.
OCII staff said the amendments increase the plan area’s commercial leasable cap by about 170,000 square feet, raise the maximum allowable height at the parcel from 39 feet to 109 feet and adjust the floor‑area ratio from 2.9 to 2.95. Staff said OCII prepared the 10th addendum to the Mission Bay Subsequent Final Environmental Impact Report to evaluate the project under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Nikki Henry, an OCII Mission Bay development specialist, described the package as six related actions needed to facilitate the project, and said the proposal reflects more than a year of community input. Teresa Nemeth, vice president of development and community relations at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, said the parcel has been constrained by prior height limits and that the new design lets the company deliver research lab space and neighborhood‑serving retail.
Supporters called during the public comment period. Melanie Cohen, director of regional policy and government affairs for BioCom California, said the Bay Area remains a national life‑science cluster and urged approval to preserve industry capacity. Several neighborhood advisory‑committee members and union representatives — including a field representative from Carpenters Local 22 — said the developer committed to union construction, local hiring programs and exceed SBE/MBE/WBE participation goals.
Staff presented the proposed public benefits and fees: one‑time impact and related fees that staff summarized as totaling about $12,200,000, an ongoing park maintenance offset paid annually, and a voluntary $1,500,000 operational endowment for the nearby Mission Bay elementary school. Staff also said ARE has agreed to apply OCII’s Small Business Enterprise participation requirements to tenant improvements where feasible and to coordinate First Source local‑hire efforts.
The commission moved and voted on the items individually. Commissioner Scott moved and Vice Chair Rosales seconded the motions. Item 5b passed on a 3‑aye, 1‑absent vote (Commissioner Brackett recorded absent for that roll call); subsequent items 5c–5g were approved on roll calls recorded as four ayes.
What’s next: Staff said the approvals will be transmitted to the Planning Commission (scheduled Nov. 19 as noted by staff), the Board of Supervisors’ oversight board and the California Department of Finance as required by the project approvals process. Public‑benefit commitments and CEQA findings were described in the staff presentation and will be reflected in the project record.
Provenance: OCII staff presentation and discussion of items 5b–5g; public comment and roll‑call votes recorded during the Nov. 17, 2020 OCII commission meeting.
