Bay Meadows

San Mateo, CA

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A Regional Destination and Local Amenity

CMG placed high value on the public realm as a quality and enduring framework on which this community will be built through generations. The open spaces and streetscapes were designed to be experienced as a continuous park to create a high-quality pedestrian experience. The programming includes distinct destinations, a wealth of outdoor settings for this new community, a public park designed to serve San Mateo, a town square, sports park, playgrounds, community garden, picnic areas, sculptures, intimate gardens, and promenades. The design of the stormwater treatment infrastructure preceded state stormwater guidelines established in 2010, yet now exceeds them in performance and integration. CMG approached this project as a case study, intended to express and integrate the best stormwater management techniques, and ensured that Bay Meadows is one of the largest modern examples of sustainable infrastructure implementation.

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CMG created the social streets and landing greens for active and passive use. Streets are programmed along edges by curated linear parks which define the character of the space as a vibrant destination. The programs and amenities include an active beer garden, event lawn, swing garden, ice cream stand, fitness lot, ping-pong park grove, bocce courts, tetherball park, volleyball, barbecue court, a dining terrace, social lounge, succulent garden, a central flexible lawn, and children’s play garden. Bay Meadows is driven by CMG’s agenda to create Democratic Public Spaces in all the firm’s work, projects that facilitate multi-generational socialization and public life of the parks and open spaces. Image Credit: Richard Seagraves
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Image Credit: Richard Seagraves

Through the Bay Meadows project, CMG has been able to transform 80 acres of a former horse racetrack into a progressive transit-orient neighborhood. This new public realm has become an important precedent for how to create a lively and high-quality Democratic Public Space in the South San Francisco Bay. It has matured into a citywide destination for sports and recreation and a neighborhood common ground.