Project Data:

Completion Date:     3/15/2022

Square Footage:      140660

Building Use:           Housing

Project Description:

Jefferson Union High School District faces tremendous challenges in recruiting and retaining faculty and staff because of the high cost of housing in the Bay Area. In response, the District sought a voter-approved Measure J bond provided $33 million of funding for teacher/staff housing, the first of its kind in the state. By offering subsidized housing, the District can compete with higher salaries in surrounding Districts and provide a connected community for its employees. The design team was selected via a design-build RFP to deliver the 3.3-acre 122-unit complex. The faculty and staff housing is the first phase of the Serramonte Del Rey neighborhood, which will cover 22 total acres and include retail stores, open park space and recreation trails, as well as new walkable, bikeable neighborhoods.

The articulated facades create a vibrant new front door for a future 22-acre neighborhood, with a site design that provides views from its elevated location. The project includes enhanced common spaces designed to entice teachers to the school district and provide many locations for colleagues to interact and socialize outside of their schools/workplace.

The units ranged from 1BR to 3BR, with sizes ranging from approximately 640 – 1,270 sq. ft., with rental rates estimated at 50% of market rate at the time of occupancy. The buildings are Type 5, three and four-story structures with 180 parking spaces in a combination of structured parking as well as surface parking.

In addition to affordable rents, the new facility offers a number of amenities that will enhance quality of life for the employees. The building features laundry rooms on each floor, a fitness center, and a courtyard with playgrounds. There are several common rooms for relaxation and collaborative work
.
The site is extremely well connected to major arterials, including Highway 1, Interstate 280, and State Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard). The site is well-served by public transit: the Colma and South San Francisco BART stations are both approximately two miles away, and there is an existing SamTrans bus stop serving Route 120 and Route 24 right outside of the project entry along Serramonte Boulevard. In addition, many surrounding streets have bicycle facilities, including Class II bicycle lanes on Serramonte Boulevard and Callan Boulevard, as well as Class III bicycle facilities on Hickey Boulevard.

The project utilized a metal stud structural system, resulting in a higher quality finished product and solid structure, while taking advantage of reduced insurance costs compared to metal stud framing to eliminate the cost penalty.

Firm Name:              SVA Architects, Inc.

Completion Date:     3/15/2022

Square Footage:      140660

Building Use:           Housing

Location:                 Daly City, CA

Project Description:
Design for Integration:
The project tackles the goal of providing affordable housing for teachers and staff in an area where the housing crisis and high costs have placed an extreme burden on the public school staff. This project hopes to provide a high quality, welcoming home for those staff at roughly half of market-rate rents, and in doing so, aims to create an environment that rivals any market-rate development. The richly articulated exterior design provides overall appeal and contrasts with concepts of ‘affordable’ construction, while enhanced amenity spaces and outdoor spaces provide a sense of community and give staff the ability to socialize as well as enjoy views from the site’s elevation position. The project is also a small symbol of appreciation to the value of the teachers to the community.

Design for Equitable Communities:
Providing affordable workforce housing for the school district is, by its nature, a social equality movement – this provides potential teachers and staff from a variety of different backgrounds the ability to commit to their passion of teaching with less worry. Where previously someone might need to ‘know someone’ or come from the area to have an ‘in’ to the housing market, this project makes the job an option for everyone. Student debt payments, which overwhelmingly challenge newly graduated teachers from less wealthy backgrounds, become less of a concern with the reduced housing costs. The project also attempts to include a variety of different spaces, including lounges, breakout rooms, a children’s activity room, playground equipment and outdoor socializing areas, that are welcoming to the wide range of teachers and staff – from first year teachers to experienced staff with families.

Design Architect:
SVA Architects, Inc.

Associate Architect or Firm:
N/A

Landscape Architect:
ANLA Associates

Owner / Developer:
Jefferson Union High School District

Engineer:
Civil Engineer: Luk & Associates
Structural Engineer (foundational only): IDA Engineering
Structural Engineer (steel stud building): FWCSE
MEP Engineers: Emerald City Engineers
Acoustical Engineers: AES Acoustics

General Contractor:
J.H. Fitzmaurice

Consultant:

Photographer:
Northwest Architectural Photography