The Crossing in San Bruno wins mixed reviews

May 14, 2009

SAN BRUNO — A look at The Crossing development in San Bruno affords few hints to the property’s military past.

Some 1,700 people used to bustle in and out of the 20-acre, fenced Navy engineering facility each day.

Today, on that same site, hundreds of pastel apartments are furnished by manicured palm trees and a heated pool — and the sound of construction workers building more apartments nearby.

The former military base, also once the site of World War II-era barracks, is home to what city officials describe as the largest redevelopment project that quiet San Bruno will ever see, corseted by Interstate 380, The Shops at Tanforan, the National Archives and Golden Gate National Cemetery.

In 2000, a few years after the Navy relocated its engineering division, the land was sold by the federal government to a development team for $25.5 million.

Construction of The Crossing began in 2002. Now, where military vehicles and jeeps once filled parking lots, two luxury apartment buildings comprising 485 apartments — complete with granite countertops, today’s mark of luxury living — were constructed. A 228-unit affordable senior-housing complex, for those with an annual income of less than $47,520 or $54,300 for two, opened down the street in 2006.

A third phase of the project, a “luxury” multifamily residential development with 350 units, is currently under construction, with the first of two buildings scheduled for completion in September, and the second on track for a mid-2010 opening, according Hal Watson, CEO of project developer SNK Realty.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/The-Crossings-44952182.html#ixzz0qtRylZqe

Submitted by Jim Alex