City Council certifies EIR and introduces rezoning and development agreement for Alexandria Center for Life Sciences

San Carlos — The City Council on May 12 certified a Final Environmental Impact Report and introduced ordinances to rezone the 25-acre industrial site along Commercial Street and Old County Road for the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, a phased research-and-development campus that would build six laboratory buildings, two parking structures and extensive public open space over as much as 15 years.

The project, proposed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, was presented to the council and described in staff and applicant briefings as a campus organized east–west: a tree-lined Commercial Street promenade, a central green and a widened, accessible Pulgus Creek with a raised boardwalk. The development would include a publicly accessible internal promenade, a plaza along Commercial Street, amenity space for community use and a commitment of up to roughly $50 million in community benefits and an estimated $89 million in city impact fees across phases, staff said.

"This will be a pedestrian-first, landscape-forward campus that opens to the public," applicant Ton Jordan told the council in his presentation, saying Alexandria had revised designs after working with staff and community input.

Why it matters: Staff and the applicant stressed that the campus would be integrated with the city’s 2022 East Side Innovation District Vision Plan and that public access and creek improvements were central promises. Council members and neighborhood groups pressed the project team on contaminated‑soil and groundwater remediation at the site, uncertainty over creek permits, and traffic and cut‑through impacts on nearby residential neighborhoods.

On environmental remediation, the project team and consultants said two legacy groundwater contamination cases remain under Water Board oversight and that remediation and monitoring are underway; Nick Walchuk, the project’s environmental consultant, said Alexandria has a voluntary oversight agreement in place and that groundwater monitoring shows favorable remediation progress. "Remediation has been implemented on part of the site and will continue with development under Water Board authority," staff summarized.

Traffic and transit: The applicant submitted a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan that staff peer-reviewed and estimated would exceed the city’s 20% trip‑reduction requirement; a Transportation Management Association (TMA) promised in the development agreement could increase reductions further by pooling shuttles, rideshare, and employer programs. Mark Spencer, the peer-review traffic consultant, said the site’s proximity to Caltrain gives the TDM/TMA more potential than many other sites. Council and residents pressed for safeguards to prevent shuttles from routing through residential cut‑through streets.

Public benefits and placement: Among the benefits in the development agreement are off‑site creek improvements (subject to permits and property‑owner agreements), a public creek trail, a commitment to provide at least one cafe open to the public and access to public restrooms, amenity space available to city and nonprofit groups at no or reduced cost, and 60 publicly available parking spaces that staff amended to be signed and available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Council action and next steps: The council unanimously adopted a resolution certifying the Final EIR and approved edits to the development agreement (including language clarifying school contributions and requiring council approval for any alternative creek trail alignment). Council then introduced ordinances to rezone the site to Planned Development and to approve the development agreement; the measures will return for adoption on a future meeting for second readings and final votes.

What remains unresolved: Council members and neighborhood speakers urged close oversight of groundwater remediation and wanted more detail on the creek permits, which require coordination with multiple agencies and neighboring landowners. Several council members asked staff to update traffic-impact-fee priorities and pursue any feasible improvements at the Holly Street/101 ramps to reduce neighborhood impacts.

The council’s roll calls on May 12 were unanimous in each action (Council Members Dugan, Leighton, Rack, Vice Mayor Venites and Mayor McDall voted yes). The council directed staff and the applicant to continue permit coordination and return with any required amendments for council approval.