October 10, 2011, 03:30 AM By Bill Silverfarb Daily Journal staff
Developers are being sought to build the first round of housing for the
second phase of the Bay Meadows project in San Mateo that will
eventually see more than 1,100 units of rental and for-sale properties
on the 83-acre site.
A request for proposals by Wilson Meany Sullivan is seeking a builder
for 156 townhomes, just south of where a 12-acre community park will be
constructed, said Janice Thacher, project manager with WMS.
Construction should start in 2012, Thacher told a group of Parks
and Recreation commissioners during a tour of the site last week.
The commissioners visited the site to weigh in on the last
details of a large community park that will eventually be deeded to the
city to manage.
The high-density transit-oriented development, tucked between the
Hillsdale and Hayward Park Caltrain stations east of El Camino Real,
will also feature more than 715,000 square feet of office space and
93,000 square feet of space set aside for retail.
So far, WMS has leveled the former horse race track to construct
the beginning infrastructure for the project, including roads,
landscaping, lighting and a pond.
The parks segment of the project has been in the works since 2005
and the commission gave its last recommendations to WMS last week for a
12-acre park that will feature soccer and baseball fields.
The project will also feature a 1.5-acre neighborhood park and
1.5-acre linear park which will also one day be maintained by San Mateo.
The site of the bigger park is intended to serve as the
stormwater retention facility for the entire development and WMS has
constructed a pond adjacent to Saratoga Drive to handle excess water
during wet weather.
Park and Recreation commissioners had one last request for the developer, however, to build a bathroom facility at the park.
“Our only reservation was the lack of rest room facilities,” said Dave Morrison, chair of the commission.
The park will be used for youth and adult sports leagues, Morrison said.
The park will be built first as a feature element to help sell and complete the project, Morrison said.
Wetland gardens will also be a feature of the park as will picnic areas, bicycle racks and pedestrian pathways around the pond.
The community park will feature 41 parking stalls for visitors, Thacher said.
Submitted by Jim Alex