Alexandria presents Tan FR redevelopment vision; parents urge school funding in community benefits

At a March 18, 2025 joint study session, developer representatives outlined plans to redevelop the former Tan FR mall into a mixed‑use campus that could deliver roughly 1,000 housing units alongside substantial life‑science and retail space, while public commenters urged that community benefits be directed to San Bruno public schools.

City staff opened the presentation with a schedule and context: the city adopted a reimagining land‑use vision in 2021, Alexandria (the applicant) completed site acquisition in early 2022, and the city has run a public engagement program the staff said has held 16 events and collected more than 900 resident surveys. Staff said a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will undergo public review in mid‑June through July, that the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) will likely find the project inconsistent with the airport land‑use plan, and that Council would be asked in September 2025 to adopt an intent to override that ALUC finding if it proceeds as scheduled.

Developer representatives described two “bookend” scenarios under study. Under a Max R&D scenario the team said it would build out approximately 1.8 million square feet of life‑science or tech office in two flex zones while delivering the committed housing (about 1,000 multifamily units) and roughly 400,000 square feet of retail. Under a Max mixed‑use scenario the team said it would replace a portion of that lab square footage with additional multifamily housing (about 500 more units in total under that scenario), a potential hotel and a grocer anchor.

The presenters emphasized fixed site constraints: Target is expected to remain on its current footprint, a BART station and several structured garages remain in place, and an approximate height cap in the plan (around 79 feet) limits maximum building massing. The development team said those limits shape where units and commercial space can be sited and explained design moves intended to create a Market Hall, a central green, a retail village around a reconfigured cinema and improved pedestrian connections to transit.

On housing, Katie Hter of Strata Investment Group described the residential strategy for the first phase: three residential buildings totaling about 1,000 units, including a largest building of roughly 600 units and a standalone 200‑unit affordable building. Hter said the standalone affordable structure would produce roughly 20% overall affordability for the project, compared with the city’s 15% inclusionary minimum, and that the team expects to identify an affordable housing partner within the next two to three months to finalize financing and the target population for those units.

Public speakers at the study session focused heavily on school impacts and the community benefits package. Melissa Buros, a lifelong San Bruno resident and PTA leader, urged the city to negotiate school improvements as part of the developer’s community benefits program, listing playgrounds, field upgrades and safety improvements near schools as possibilities. Heather L, president of the San Bruno Education Foundation, and other parents echoed that request, citing past development agreements and asking the city to set aside some portion of community resources for the school district or an education foundation.

Other public commenters supported the project’s housing and economic potential but asked for clearer commitments on transportation demand management, pedestrian and bike connections along El Camino Real, and better interim management of the existing mall and parking garages. Mark, representing the local Building and Construction Trades Council, said union craftworkers could staff the project’s construction and welcomed collaboration with the developer.

Councilors and Planning Commissioners pressed the project team on several technical points: the developer was asked to translate proposed office square footage into a range of expected job counts (commissioners said square footage alone is an incomplete proxy for jobs), to provide a clearer circulation plan for pedestrians and cyclists, and to show how family‑friendly amenities and noise mitigation will be addressed given proximity to SFO. On safety and existing conditions, staff and the applicant said the southern parking garage would be removed in the redevelopment while the eastern garage would remain and that safety, lighting and screening strategies are being developed.

Staff told the bodies that negotiations over a community benefits package were expected to intensify this summer and into the fall as the entitlements and the development agreement proceed; staff also said an economic impact analysis is being finalized and will be shared when public. The project team said demolition and site‑preparation sequencing remains under study; heavy site work could require many months once permitting and tenant coordination are resolved.

What happens next: staff expects the draft EIR public review in mid‑June through late July, ALUC hearings and an anticipated Council intent‑to‑override action in September 2025, a Planning Commission public hearing on the entitlement package in late October and a Council hearing and ordinance introductions in mid‑November 2025. The team said early phases will prioritize housing and a compact retail/market core while lab/commercial buildout may be phased to respond to market demand.

The study session closed with staff and commissioners thanking the many public speakers and with the developer team standing by to provide additional technical responses during the entitlement process. No formal council action was taken tonight on the Tan FR entitlements; major discretionary approvals will follow the EIR and public hearing schedule described by staff.