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Commission grants Alexandria 518,242 sq ft office allocation in Mission Bay after debate over lab-to-office conversions
Summary
The commission approved Alexandria Real Estate’s request to allocate 518,242 sq ft of Prop M office space within the Alexandria District in Mission Bay. Public commenters representing biotech tenants urged preserving lab capacity; commissioners discussed Prop M mechanics, redevelopment-plan flexibility and high vacancy in life-science space.
The Planning Commission on Oct. 23 approved a request from Alexandria Real Estate Equities to allocate 518,242 square feet of large-cap office space within the Alexandria District in Mission Bay, voting 7–0 after an extended presentation and public comment period.
Planning staff framed the request against the 2008 framework that created an Alexandria District pool of office allocation and described the request as consistent with the Mission Bay South redevelopment plan and prior findings adopted under Planning Commission motion No. 17,709. Rebecca Salgado (Planning Department) said the allocation would permit conversion of life-science/lab floor area to office use in four noncontiguous Alexandria properties (455 Mission Bay Blvd. S., 1450 Owen St., 1500 Owen St., and 1700 Owen St.) without constructing new buildings.
Project sponsors said the life-science marketplace has shifted and that Mission Bay currently has high availability of lab space; Jesse Nelson (Alexandria) cited industry changes (more computational work, outsourced lab services and life-science/AI hybrids) and argued the conversion would provide flexibility for tenants. Triti Nemeth (Alexandria consultant and vice chair of the Mission Bay Citizens Advisory Committee) emphasized ongoing coordination with UCSF and oversight bodies.
Public comment included tenants and early-career scientists who warned that converting lab space to office would reduce available qualified lab space and could push biotech tenants out of the city. Adrianna Marble of Accel Bio, an Alexandria tenant, said finding suitable lab space is difficult and urged preserving existing labs. Another commenter, Maria Slovejnick, said the local biotech ecosystem depends on proximity to UCSF and incubators and asked the commission to consider structures that preserve lab infrastructure.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about Prop M accounting, whether the buildings retain lab-grade infrastructure, and how allocations could be returned to the program if market conditions change. Staff and applicants said the buildings retain underlying infrastructure (floor-to-floor heights, HVAC) and that Prop M and redevelopment-plan mechanisms can account for future reversions or forfeit of allocation. After deliberation, the commission voted to approve the allocation with conditions; staff will document findings and monitor implementation.
