Council Discusses U.S. Post Office Sale

As Burlingame officials look to the probable sale of the U.S. Post Office building at 341 Lorton Ave. as a possible solution in their search for a open, public space in town, one issue keeps rising: cost of the property.

Now that it seems likely part or all of the U.S. Post Office site will be put on the market, City Council members met Thursday night to discuss their ideas for the location.

In accordance with the downtown specific plan, Burlingame officials have been working to establish a central, open space downtown. The Post Office, its large front lot, parking lot and placement adjacent to a city-owned parking lot could make it the perfect location—depending on how much of the property is sold and how much it costs.

“It’s right smack in the core of our downtown area,” said City Manager Jim Nantell. “We are probably the appropriate owner of the property for a public focal point purpose, but we’re probably not the right owner for development.”

The building is estimated to cost anywhere from $5 million to $10 million—much over city spending limits.

Another question at hand was the determination of the historic status of the building, which directly affects how it can be developed and how much it will cost.

“It needs to be a vibrant kind of retail,” said Mark Farrar of Millennium Partners, a development firm which is familiar with Burlingame. “[You] need a reason for people to walk through that space.”

Tom Gilman of DES Architects and a Burlingame resident suggested that an open space could be created using just the parking lot portion of the property, or even a portion of the city-owed lot. The viability of the space, however, would be directly dependent on what kind of use the post office building holds.

The council and other officials also discussed the possibility of a public/private partnership, under which both a logical building and open space could be installed. 

Council members discussed many ideas for the area, including transforming it into a plaza like Redwood City’s courthouse square, creating a ring of retail with a public space inside and having a partially covered area to keep the farmers market going in both rain or shine.

“I just keep looking at Courthouse Square and how that’s revitalized Redwood City,” said Councilmember Cathy Baylock. “This is really an important part of our city...I think that’s very expensive real estate to have asphalt on.”

The council can expect more ideas to come in August 1, when concepts for developing city-owned parking lots are due. Burlingame officials sent out requests for proposals in May, hoping to revitalize parts of downtown under the condition that all parking must be replaced either as part of the development or elsewhere in the city.