Title
Report regarding a motion to accept the Community Civic Campus Schematic Design and advance the project to the next phase of design, Design Development. (Marian Lee, Assistant City Manager and SmithGroup, Project Master Architect).
label
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council receive a presentation regarding the Community Civic Campus design and approve by motion the project Schematic Design as the basis to advance the project to the next phase of design, Design Development.
Body
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The Community Civic Campus project, which envisions a new Library, Parks & Recreation center with a park, a new City Council Chamber that can also function as a community theater, a new state-of-the art police station and new fire station to provide enhanced public safety services to our community, has reached a meaningful milestone.
The project team has prepared the project site plan, multi-modal circulation and parking plan, building architecture and park design. The focus of this meeting is to present to City Council and the public progress-to-date on project design and obtain approval by motion to accept the project Schematic Design as the basis to advance the project to the next phase of design, Design Development. The presentation attached will be provided by the master architect team, SmithGroup. The program description, site plan and architectural renderings are included in the presentation.
SmithGroup has achieved a signature design for the City of South San Francisco and the project team is excited to present it to the City Council and community. The design is memorable and is intended to celebrate the past while embracing the future with confidence and enthusiasm. The design supports all of the program commitments outlined at previous City Council meetings. There have been some design changes necessitated by engineering and cost factors, but they do not change the key program commitments.
The Library and Parks & Recreation and Community Theatre/City Council Chambers will now all be supported in one building versus two. The building is three stories, 80,000 square feet, with two main entrances: one off of El Camino Real providing direct access to the second floor and the other off Antoinette Lane and the campus park providing direct access to the ground floor. The ground floor includes multiple event spaces and structured parking as well as the Community Theatre/City Council Chambers. The second floor includes library zones for children and teens, the Discovery Center, and Parks & Recreation classrooms. And the third floor includes core library spaces, Parks & Recreation classrooms and administrative offices. Parks & Recreation classrooms are now on both the second and third floors.
The park is 1.3 acres, slightly less than originally envisioned at 1.5 acres. All of the outdoor future programs will be supported. With grant/donation funding, the team is working on including play areas for kids of all ages, a turf area for multiple uses, and a butterfly garden. The park will include a walking path and fitness rest areas along the Centennial Trail extension which will fill an existing trail gap between the bulb of Antoinette Lane and Chestnut Avenue.
The campus will be designed to enable all modes of transportation to access the campus. Walking and biking will be encouraged with designated paths as well as bike parking. Alternative modes of transportation will be prioritized by providing a designated multi-modal area conveniently located in close proximity to the main campus entrance. Parking will be provided for the Library and Parks & Recreation users. There will be 220 spaces, which is separate from designated parking for police. The structure parking spaces below the building have been reduced from 30 to 20, necessitated by structural and cost containment considerations. Parking below the building will accommodate ADA needs. All areas of the site will be ADA compliant and ADA parking will also be provided in the surface parking lot as well as curbside areas closest to the main entry.
During May and June, the project team presented the project design to the public. The project team relied on utilizing existing meetings of the Parks & Recreation Commission, Library Board of Trustees, Planning Commission and Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission to communicate with the public. The project team also presented to the Design Review Board as well as the Measure W Citizens’ Advisory Committee. Meeting notices were provided to the public via email blasts, the project website (www.communityciviccampus.net), flyers, and banner size posters at the Municipal Services Building and the Main Library.
In addition to design efforts described above, the project team has also been progressing with design on the new police station and new fire station. Unlike the main building, the design of these facilities has generally been driven by technical teams with minimal public discussion as these are public safety buildings.
The new police station is approximately 45,000 sq. ft. and located at the new campus site. The main building is two stories and the support building which includes the firing range will be one story. The key building areas include 911 emergency center, firing range, training area, classrooms, investigation, communications, administrative services, and records. The police station also includes secured parking for police and curbside parking for the public in front of the police facility.
The new fire station is approximately 8,800 sq. ft. and will be located at the Municipal Services Building site - not the new main campus. The station is one story which includes areas for emergency dispatch, three apparatus bays and support, living areas, dining, sleeping quarters and training facilities. The fire station also includes dedicated parking for fire and visitors.
The program description, site plan and architectural rendering are also included in the presentation. The design for the police station has been reviewed by Design Review Board and the Planning Commission. The exterior architecture of the police station has been scrutinized as it will need to architecturally balance and compliment the main portion of the campus. The design for the fire station will be reviewed by Design Review Board and the Planning Commission at a future time, most likely coordinated with development of the Municipal Services Building site. Since the new fire station is not located on the main campus site, its architecture does not need to relate directly with the campus buildings.
FISCAL IMPACT
None. The proposed design cost is within the project budget.
STRATEGIC PLAN
This effort is included in the City’s Strategic Plan. It aligns with Priority #2 which is focused on enhancing quality of life and Priority #3 which is focused on enhancing public safety.
CONCLUSION
Moving forward, the project team will continue to manage the project in three phases to reflect the construction phasing of the project. Phase I construction will be the police station anticipated to break ground in January 2020, Phase II construction will be the main campus that includes the Library and Parks & Recreation building, Community Theatre/City Council building and the park in fall 2020, and Phase III will be the Fire station to be built in the future, likely coordinated with development at the Municipal Services Building site.
With City Council approval, the project team will be able to proceed with the next phase of design with the target of ground breaking next year.
Attachment: Design Presentation