Library, Parks & Recreation and Community Theater / Council Chamber
To meet the needs of a rapidly growing community, the Library and Parks & Recreation components are strategically co-located. The joining of these two components creates synergies by sharing space and other assets.
Library
The core Library functions will expand and enhance the services currently offered. Planned library areas include:
Science and Technology Discovery Center
A fun, engaging after-school destination, the 4,500 square foot Discovery Center will feature the following amenities:
- Makerspace
- Digital Media Lab
- Gaming development and contests
- Programming room for hackathons, fixit shops, and more
- STEAM learning
- Virtual reality experiences
Children's and Teen Learning
Imaginations will soar in the expansive Children's learning areas. A story time room with interactive early literacy stations, adjacent to a preschool classroom, will foster the love of reading in the very young.
- Children's library
- Early literacy center
- Teen zone
- Homework center
- Study rooms
- Interactive workstations
- Story time area-in-the round
Lifelong Learning
The Adult learning areas will be a beacon for all, with a full book collection, reading computer lab, in addition to the below amenities:
- Books, DVDs, downloadable media
- Marketplace of new ideas
- Interactive workstations
- Project READ Adult tutoring
- Adult learning classrooms
- Study rooms
- High-speed Wi-Fi
Parks & Recreation
The Parks & Recreation areas of the Community Civic Center will support and enhance user experience. Planned Parks & Recreation areas include:
- Increased space and opportunities to support and enhance fitness, performance, learning and enrichment, crafts, and technology-driven multi-purpose spaces.
- Two generous halls to house medium and large social gatherings, civic, community and cultural events, function as banquet space, or accept business gatherings with an adjacent catering kitchen, support, and storage facilities.
- A strong complement of small, medium, and large classrooms and numerous exercise and dance spaces, and a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen.
- Preschool-aged classroom
- Numerous exercise and dance studios with changing rooms.
- Three music rooms.
- An early learning classroom to provide high-quality pre-school aged class programs.
- Administrative spaces to provide exceptional customer service.
- A 1.3-acre park with passive and active recreational areas for community gathering, events, outdoor fitness programs, and children's play.
Inside Community Space
Two generous halls are planned to house medium and large social gatherings, civic, community and cultural events, function as banquet space, or business gatherings with an adjacent kitchen, and storage facilities. The building includes a strong complement of small, medium, and large classrooms and numerous exercise and dance spaces.
A new Civic Plaza and the Community Theater / Council Chamber is planned and will provide an iconic image and civic presence at the El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue intersection. The theater will be designed to accommodate multiple functions including lectures, performances and City Council meetings.
Outside Open Space
The Community Civic Campus will include inviting plaza areas, universal access, park restroom facilities, and active and passive recreational areas within its 1.3-acre park. There will be approximately 200 structured/surface parking spaces to support the Library and Parks & Recreation departments including Council Chamber.
The outdoor spaces are envisioned to accommodate a number of activities such as fitness / exercise classes, children play areas, informal seating, and quiet spaces for reading. The outdoor plaza areas will be provided for gathering, events, and informal interactions with friends. The campus will connect to the Centennial Trail that will invite bike and pedestrian activity to the campus, and provide outdoor fitness equipment for park and trail users. Future plans also include providing a "bike hub" which would take advantage of the Centennial Trail, close proximity to the SSF BART Station, key bus stops along El Camino Real, as well as the City’s Orange Memorial Park.
Transportation & Accessibility
The Community Civic Campus project will add new pathways and an extension of the Centennial Way Trail through the site, connecting to a new signalized trail crossing at Chestnut Avenue, and pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements along El Camino Real.
The design team prepared a Conceptual Multimodal Access and Circulation Plan to address travel to, from, and within the Civic Campus site. Planning efforts were built upon an extensive body of work conducted by the City of South San Francisco, including the General Plan, El Camino Real/Chestnut Avenue Area Plan, Bicycle Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan, and the Grand Boulevard Initiative project.
The Community Civic Campus’ central location and proximity to the Centennial Way Trail presents a unique opportunity to connect the City’s transportation system and support a vibrant neighborhood. Community and stakeholder feedback provided during the outreach process indicated that El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue presented barriers to walking and biking to the Community Civic Campus. Moreover, the gap in the Centennial Way Trail along Antoinette Lane and lack of east-west connection between Arroyo Drive and Oak Avenue limits travel to and through the campus area. For these reasons, this project provides not only an opportunity to enhance community services, but to improve transportation and connectivity as well.
There are several transportation projects in progress near the Community Civic Campus site and the design team will implement several other multimodal transportation improvements:
- The City of South San Francisco and Caltrans are implementing the Grand Boulevard Initiative project to reduce pedestrian crossing distances and add a landscaped median along El Camino Real between Arroyo Drive and Chestnut Avenue.
- The SummerHill Apartment Communities (988 El Camino Real) development will add a signalized crossing for the Centennial Way Trail across Chestnut Avenue, straighten the eastern crosswalk at El Camino Real/Chestnut Avenue, and retime the traffic signal at El Camino Real/Chestnut Avenue.
- A separate engineering study is also exploring the feasibility of a future Oak Avenue extension.
- The cross-section of Antoinette Lane will be reduced by ten feet to relocate the Centennial Way Trail on to the project site.
While a majority of users are expected to access the Community Civic Campus via automobiles, above-average use of walking, biking, and transit is expected due to the site’s central location. Approximately 85 percent of non-work trips within the City of South San Francisco occur via automobile, including 45 percent driving and 40 percent carpooling. However, the site’s location is within less than one mile of existing residential and schools, along with planned improvements to pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities. This presents an opportunity to support non-auto modes of access. The City will strive for a 75 percent automobile mode share goal through transportation demand management (TDM) measures that encourage carpooling, walking, biking, and transit use.
Parking will be shared between uses and managed during special events. Passenger pick-up and drop-off areas, as well as loading/unloading zones will be provided. The Community Civic Campus will also include bicycle parking spaces.
Emergency vehicle access will be prioritized through various traffic control design features and treatments.
Current Update
On October 23, 2020, a key milestone was reached on the Community Civic Campus Project with the completion of design and bidding for the new Library, Parks & Recreation and Community Theater/Council Chamber (LPR). Following the submittal of the project for a building permit on April 10, 2020, the bid package was completed and advertised on September 4, 2020.
City Staff staff received and publicly opened (via teleconference due to San Mateo County Covid-19 protocols) four responsive bids from Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Skanska USA Building Inc., Swinerton Builders, and Webcor Construction LP dba Webcor. After further review of all the bids, city staff determined the lowest responsible bidder was Swinerton Builders of San Francisco, California.
At the November 9, 2020 City Council meeting, city staff recommended to City Council acceptance of Swinerton Builders base bid of $75,608,971.00 and all Additive Alternates (alternates 1-5) that total $5,764,000.00. City will hold $10,000,000.00 for construction related contingency and thus a total hard (construction) cost of $91,372,971.00
Presentation to City Council on November 9, 2020 with LPR project updates and other details. (PDF, 2MB)
Additive Alternates Include:
- Playground (excluding exterior toilet room)
- Exterior Toilet Room
- Two new Streetlights along Antoinette Lane at Police Operations & 911 Dispatch Center
- Sidewalk Extension at El Camino Real Frontage
- Portion of Centennial Trail at Proposed Oak Avenue Intersection (PUC/Oak Ave)
Project cost includes approximately $9.6M for soft costs. Soft cost include:
- Permit and fees (for various agencies such as Caltrans & BART)
- Special inspection and material testing services
- Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E)
- Other costs as a result of construction
At the time of construction contract award, city staff presented an updated total project budget of $101,000,000.00 which includes both the Hard and Soft costs (total project construction cost).
With the construction contract award, SmithGroup the architect of record will conclude the design phase and shift into the Construction Administration phase. In this phase, the architect will oversee project construction, review the project for conformance to design, and clarify design details to facilitate construction.
Project is currently on track to start construction in January 2021 with an anticipated construction duration of (28) months.
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Phase Two Update: Dec. 2020
The contractor is starting work on this new approximately 83,000 square foot facility the week of December 21, 2020. As part of this work, they will secure it with construction fencing, and start clearing the site by removing existing vegetation, including tree removal.
Construction will begin early January, 2021. Work will occur Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note, as construction begins, parking along Antoinette Lane will be impacted. Additional traffic is expected along El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue from trucks entering and exiting the site. Major impacts to the public right-of-way will be noticed accordingly. Please visit construction.ssf.net for the latest project related impacts as a result of major developments across the City.
The new Library and Parks & Recreation building is on 6.5-acres surrounded by El Camino Real, Chestnut Avenue, and Antoinette Lane. The building is three-levels and includes entrances from both Antoinette Lane and along El Camino Real. Approximately 1.3-acres are set aside for a park and the completion of Centennial Trail. The project development includes approximately 200 parking spaces.
The new facility includes playground areas for children of different ages. The current design uses “nature” as an inspiration for the playground layout and aesthetic. The overall park design features a large synthetic turf exercise and playing field, allowing for all types of unprogrammed play and fitness classes. The large plaza areas are directly connected to the building, reinforcing the indoor-outdoor connection. A special garden area will allow for quiet socializing among wildflowers and native grasses that attract pollinators and butterflies.
Expected completion date is Spring, 2023.
Library and Parks & Recreation Level 3 Plan: Feb. 2019
Level 3 is the top floor. It is primarily dedicated to library functions and will feature a bookstore/market place atmosphere. At the center of this floor is a large open area that functions as a lounge for reading, meeting up with friends, or pre-function space for events.
To the west overlooking the park is the “Market Exchange” that will resemble a bookstore retail experience, featuring kiosks that promote the latest new books and technologies. To the west is the core library area, which includes collections, reading areas with park side views, and collaboration spaces.
To the east of the central Market Place is a 5,000 gross square foot flex space that can be programmed, if needed, for large community meetings or it can serve as flexible space to expand library services. The eastern portion of this floor houses the building administrative functions for both the Library and the Parks & Recreation departments.
As on the other floors, a centralized Main Street is designed as both a circulation and organizing feature.
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Library and Parks & Recreation Level 2 Plan: Feb. 2019
Level 2 was organized to house the most active and vibrant spaces that include activities such as children’s spaces and dance classes. This floor, referred to as the “Activity Hub,” is organized around a wide and generous central corridor that functions as a “Main Street” where patrons can wait, meet family and friends, or hang out. Main Street will also feature an art gallery and temporary exhibits.
The centrally located lobby, accessible at the El Camino Real street level, is located directly above the lower level lobby. This area will function as the “Town Square” with seating areas featuring park side views. At this spot, people can gather, meet up with family and friends, have a coffee and share the conversations of the day. An open stairway allows users to move quickly between floors and two elevators allow for access through the three-story facility. People can overlook the park side and Sign Hill at the terrace.
To the east of the lobby are a series of Parks & Recreation classrooms and dance rooms of various sizes. Closest to the lobby is a medium-sized classroom, approximately 1,600 square feet, which is home to art classes. This unique classroom is adjacent to an outdoor terrace that allows for teaching and creating art projects in an outdoor environment. There are a total of four various size classrooms plus two dance studios equipped with spring-loaded wood floors, wall mirrors, and stretch bars. At the far east end of this wing is a terrace that overlooks the park, the lower level outdoor plaza, and El Camino Real.
To the west of the lobby are library spaces and zones that support learning and discovery tailored towards children, as well as teens and young adults. These interior library areas have access to a secure outdoor reading area. Even if the library is closed, a “Discovery Center” featuring a multi-purpose program room, computer lab, and maker-space, can be accessed. The Discovery Center takes advantage of direct access to an outdoor terrace. A dedicated stairway is centrally located in this wing within the library to encourage users to go between the second and third floor library spaces.
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Update: Aug. 2018
On August 22, 2018, City Council unanimously approved the Concept Masterplan(PDF, 2MB) for the new Community Civic Campus project. Immediately following Council’s approval, the design team was directed to proceed with developing the schematic design of the new campus buildings.
Schematic design is the first design phase where design options are explored that illustrate the general scope, scale and relationship of project components. Over the next four (4) months, the SmithGroup team will advance the design of the Library & Recreation Building, Police, and Fire Stations, as well as campus site. Each building will be analyzed based on the technical aspects of the site, preferred spatial adjacencies, building circulation, building systems and material aesthetics. The SmithGroup will present design options to obtain further input on stakeholder preferences. Once the design parameters are established, the team will advance the preferred scheme and develop the building geometry, site orientation, floor plans and building elevations.
The City encourages you to stay involved in this exciting project and continue to visit this website for more updates.