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Project Spotlight: 550 Allerton Street

Redwood City is a place of vibrant contradiction. It’s situated amidst the stunning scenery of Northern California, but it’s also an outpost of Silicon Valley: easy access to nature exists side-by-side with cutting-edge technology. South Bay Construction teamed up with Form4 and Premia to build a striking building that played on this contrast. The result is a class A+ development with a design that accentuates the surrounding environment and a layout that accommodates the region’s innovative tenants.

At 76,647 square feet and six stories, 550 Allerton Street offers plenty of room to roam. Its modern and innovative design also belies any notions of a stiff or cold atmosphere. Each floor stands over 14 feet tall, creating literal and figurative headspace, while floor-to-ceiling windows let in abundant natural light and offers great views of San Francisco Bay and the western foothills. The top floor also features an outdoor terrace, where tenants can mingle, collaborate, and take in the fresh air and surrounding scenery.

Given the property’s location in the heart of Redwood City, it was important that this project catered to the daily commuter. 550 Allerton Street offers ample bike parking for cyclists, as well as showers for those looking to freshen up before heading to the office. The sleek underground parking garage guarantees a premium experience with a “hotel-style” arrival, and around-the-clock accessibility. Drivers can skip ramps and elevators entirely; the in-house valet service sees to the business of parking vehicles on one of the two underground levels. A simple text message, and the valet service can have your vehicle waiting for you at the end of the day. The garage also boasts electric-vehicle charging stations, as well as VIP spots.

For those who don’t want to bike or drive, the property is ideally situated just three blocks from the Caltrain stop at Redwood City Station. The convenience and accessibility of the neighborhood promotes a greener, more sustainable lifestyle — an ethos mirrored in the project’s inner workings.

The building was constructed with an eye to energy efficiency, and features state-of-the-art mechanical systems, so tenants can rest assured that their actions are having as low an impact on the environment as possible. And when it comes to leaving the office, 550 Allerton Street is a short walk from the 115 restaurants and storefronts in downtown Redwood City, leaving open plenty of opportunities for a dynamic work-life balance.

When it comes to floor space, 550 Allerton Street continues to impress. The first floor holds 2,118 square feet of office space, while the upper five floors cap out at just under 15,000 square feet per floor. This means that this ambitious build offers a clean, contemporary office solution for its tenants.

As the 550 Allerton Street shell project was wrapping up, South Bay Construction partnered with the CBRE, BCJ Architects, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to build out CZI’s new office on the second and third floors. The project team joined forces with SBC to dedicate significant time and effort into clarifying designs, identifying potential challenges, and closely scrutinizing drawings and submittals at an early stage. This early attention to detail meant that once actual construction began, the project became one of the smoothest SBC has ever had the pleasure of working on. In addition, SBC’s existing working relationship with city and fire inspectors in Redwood City meant that inspections were passed in a timely manner.

The office design features open-plan layouts that were easily customizable to the tenant’s specifications: workstations, conference rooms, call rooms, and an all-hands meeting area were all incorporated. Once completed, the space met CZI’s needs to centralize operations and establish a presence within the fast-growing, revitalized downtown area in Redwood City perfectly. SBC’s attention to detail and availability throughout the entire build was also appreciated by the entire project team.

South Bay Construction was proud to deliver excellence on this project, not only by being on time and on budget, but by delivering the best in modern amenities and design. 550 Allerton Street can now take its place as a new Redwood City landmark, combining beautiful scenery with a great location and the best that modern technology has to offer.

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