High Gear Bulletin

Like a tiring horse to the barn, Rotarians sped, flocked, and ambled to the Burlingame Community Center for our weekly servings of thoughtful discussion, stimulating presentation, honest gratitude, and Rotary reminders of who we are and whose we are (“Service Above Self”). And we were not disappointed.

By quitting time (1:41pm) we had been fed in body, mind and spirit, ready to be constructive community leaders for the coming week. President Koh called us to order with our Pledge of Allegiance, aptly led by Charlene Drummer. Then Jerry Winges was called forward for “thoughts for the day.” Jerry delivered to us several observations on the enlightenment, joy and self-improvements that come with being a traveler, where one learns that there is so much more to life than just the slice we are familiar with in our own routines and pathways.

Sunshine report consisted of Jim Shypertt reminding us that we had not seen Rotarian Mike Horwitz since the death of his wife several months ago. We were encouraged to keep him in our thoughts and prayers and to reach out with cards or phone calls as appropriate. Grief is an important reality, and most of us need both time and help coming out of it and back into lives of hope and gratitude.

Visitors to our meeting included Rotarian Charlene Drummer introducing a prospective new member, Nimisha Melag. Chery Fama introduced her guest, the new CEO of Peninsula Health Care District, Ana Pulido; we warmly welcomed them and hope they and we become very well acquainted.

Announcements started with past president Fritz Brauner reminding us of our partnership with the Burlingame Woman’s Club, who is sponsoring a pickup this Saturday of used medical equipment that can be passed along to another user, by swinging by their clubhouse on Park Road on Saturday, 9-4.

Susan Baker reminded us of the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting and lunch Friday @ the Hyatt; much excitement as the Chamber is re-energized and an effective change agent for our city.

Mark Johnson shared news of the death last month in SoCal of the son of past Rotarian and city mayor, Mary Janney.

Christine Krolik was freshly off the plane from Seoul, South Korea where she was visiting their son who works and lives there. She noted that the Hillsborough town council honored our Rotarian, Bobba Venkatadri for his many contributions to the quality of life in our town, plus the fact that he just celebrated his “1000 Moons,” which roughly translates (now, don’t be literal here) to him turning 80 years old. Happy Birthday!

Mark Lucchesi entertained us with a rendition of people who had (or are about to have) birthdays, anniversaries of Rotary membership, and so on. Featured were those identified as Capricorns and Aquarians, which thoughtfully included the late-but-not-anywhere-near-forgotten Duffy Offield.

Marc Friedman noted for the record the death in late 2023 of Rotarian and local hotel manager Bruce Carleton. He was one upstanding and helpful member of our community and club for many years.

Program time—Prior Burlingame mayor Michael Brownrigg stood to introduce our speaker of the day, respected and appreciated member of our Rotary Club, Lisa Goldman. In addition to her many accomplishments and successes, he noted (knowingly) that she is recognized as a “thought-leader” among those who direct and serve in local governments both in this area and in a broader sphere.

Lisa’s background includes: City Manager for the City of Burlingame, a position she’s held since December 2012. Lisa is the fourth City Manager in Burlingame’s history and the first woman to hold the position. Prior to joining the City of Burlingame, Lisa worked for the City of Alameda for just under six years, serving as the Deputy City Manager, the Acting City Manager, and the Assistant City Manager.

Lisa is the former Intergovernmental Relations Manager for the City of Fremont and began her career in local government as an Administrative Intern for her hometown, the City of Palos Verdes Estates. Lisa also spent time on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as a Legislative Assistant for Representative Henry A. Waxman.

Lisa is a member of the International City/County Management Association, the California City Management Foundation, the League of Women in Government, and Women Leading Government. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and her Master of Public Policy from U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Public Policy. In her spare time, she is a Masters swimmer who competes in open water races.

Her presentation covered our City’s “Projects and Initiatives.” After trying out a humorous attempt at both renaming of one new downtown thoroughfare plus the Broadway Arch in her own name, it was recognized that nothing could stop her from moving on to rename our town as “Goldmangame.” Except, of course, her renowned good judgement prevailed which means “nobody’s renaming ‘nothin here!”

We then were treated to the four most significant pieces of news about our city, starting with 220 Park Road (previously known as the location of our downtown Post Office) and now to be known as Town Square. This significant, multi-year project will help define Burlingame for the coming decades. The project includes the restoration and reactivation of portions of the historic post office building, with the construction of 7,562 SF of new retail and/or restaurant uses on the ground floor and reuse of 4,840 SF of the former post office building for a total of 12,402 SF of retail and/or restaurant space and 139,938 square feet of office on the floors above. 6 stories. Should be completed soon.

The second project was the Housing Element approved by our City Council in December, highlighting about 2000 new housing units in the pipeline and heading for the construction crews. This major (MAJOR!) plan for our town was spearheaded by Michael Brownrigg in his service as our mayor, and is going a long way to our city’s obligation to the state to create by 2031: 1360 low and very low income units, 529 moderate units, and 1368 above moderate income units.

1 Adrian Court (Carmel Partners)—under construction

Mixed-use development with 265 units, 38 units reserved for low-income residents. It will be 7 stories with 314 parking spaces and a publicly accessible private park.

1766 El Camino Real (Carmel Partners)—under construction

This will comprise of 8 stories with 311 units and 319 parking spaces. It is expected to be ready for occupancy in July of 2025

Eucalyptus Grove (1875 California Drive) (CRP Affordable Housing)—groundbreaking soon

This 8 story building will have 69 units with 22 parking spaces. It will be 100% low and very low-income housing.

These are all on top of our recently completed housing:

Bayswater Burlingame at 920 Bayswater was completed in October 2022

128 units, 13 reserved for moderate income, 4 stories and 179 parking spaces

The Bower at 1095 Rollins Road was completed in September 2023

150 units, 15 reserved for moderate income, 6 stories with 195 stacked parking spaces

Village at Burlingame just opened at 150 Park Road

132 units: 77 are workforce housing (65 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom); 55 are senior housing (50 one-bedroom and 5 two-bedroom)

WOW! Hurray!

The third Development Project which define the new and emerging face of Burlingame is Life Sciences:

1200-1340 Bayshore (Divco) (proposed)—old Hyatt Cinema site, among other properties

1669/1699 Bayshore (Helios)—under construction—close to the Marriott on the west side of the street

Big projects approved but not yet under construction

620 Airport Blvd (Boca Lake Office) surface lot next to the Hilton Hotel
Two 9-story buildings, 835 parking spaces; 481,660 sq ft
777 Airport Blvd (LCP West) former Red Roof Inn
One 13–story building, 1,009 parking spaces; 403,400 sq ft

Under construction:

567 Airport BLVD (Peninsula Owner LLC)—near the Bay Park Plaza along the lagoon

For those looking for fun in the midst of all the work (!), the Fourth (and final) Development Project reported on my Ms. Goldman is … drum roll, please…

Topgolf!

In May 2020, the Planning Commission approved an application for environmental review, design review, and a conditional use permit. This took several years of negotiations before signing a lease agreement. Top Golf is now under construction and taking shape. Plan includes 102 hitting bays, a restaurant, event space, and parking.

Whew—this was one terrific presentation. And Lisa was quick to note that so much of it was built on the strong foundation laid down immediately before her time by Rotarian Jim Nantell, who had tuned in remotely for our meeting to see what good things came from all his hard work.

Lisa took questions and President Koh dismissed our meeting, while visions of sugar plums danced in our heads. Bye.

Zoom Recording

Our very own Burlingame Rotarian, Mark Lucchesi has started a podcast for the Burlingame Historical Society called "Burlingame is a Small Town." He has interviewed a number of Burlingame Rotarians as well as other prominent folks in our community. You can check out his YouTube podcasts here.

Wednesday, january 17, 2024