Top image: Burlingame Avenue in the city’s downtown business district, near the new City Hall on Chapin Avenue. Photo: Kglavin (talk · contribs) (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
The numbers: a $34.5 million purchase agreement, a $3.71 million build-out contract and an opening date of Tuesday, Oct. 27. That is when Burlingame’s city offices reopen to the public at 1440 Chapin Ave., according to a city alert. The old City Hall at 501 Primrose Road closed to the public at noon on Thursday, Oct. 22, so staff could move.
City offices will be on the third floor of the Chapin Avenue building. The city asks visitors to park in the rear ground-floor lot, not the building’s garage.
How the deal was structured
On Feb. 18, 2025, the City Council approved an agreement to lease 26,522 square feet at 1440 Chapin and then buy the building for $34.5 million on or before June 30, 2027, according to the city’s City Hall Project page. The city says it chose that route after comparing three options:
- Stay and repair. Keeping the 1970 building would have cost an estimated $35 million over 10 years, including about $10 million for seismic work, $600,000 for asbestos removal, $1.5 million each for plumbing and electrical, $2 million for HVAC and $500,000 for the roof, plus more than $300,000 a year in maintenance.
- Build new. A new City Hall was estimated at $73.4 million to $90 million.
- Buy an existing building. The option the council chose.
The council awarded a $3,714,000 tenant-improvement contract to Swinerton on Feb. 2, 2026, and work started March 4, according to the city’s construction progress page. Group 4 Architecture designed the interior, which includes a consolidated public counter so residents can handle permits and other business in one place.
Who pays, and how
The purchase is being financed with bonds, General Fund reserves and proceeds from the sale of city parking Lot H at 255 El Camino Real, Hoodline reported in August. The building has other tenants, so the city also collects rent while it owns the property.
Where the council meets
Not everything moves Tuesday. The City Council will keep meeting in the chambers at the old City Hall through the end of 2026, then move to the Maple Room on the second floor of the Burlingame Community Center until new chambers are built, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. The city has not set a timeline for those chambers.
What happens to 501 Primrose
The Primrose Road building, designed by Kahl, Howell & Whifler, opened in 1970 and replaced the city’s 1914 hall on Park Road, Hoodline reported. The site is zoned R-4, which allows high-density residential use. The city began community outreach on the site’s future in late 2025, and no decision has been made.
The long view
Burlingame chose to buy an existing office building rather than build a monument. By the city’s own figures, the $34.5 million purchase, plus a $3.7 million build-out, costs about what a decade of patching the 1970 building would have, and roughly half the low estimate for building new. The bigger long-term value may be the land the city leaves behind. A downtown parcel zoned R-4 is the kind of site Peninsula cities are under state pressure to put to use, and what Burlingame does with 501 Primrose will be the next decision to watch.
The City Council’s next regular meeting will be held at the current chambers at 501 Primrose Road. Agendas are posted on the city’s website.
Sources
- City of Burlingame, “New City Hall to Open October 27, 2026”
- City of Burlingame, City Hall Project
- City of Burlingame, City Hall Construction Progress
- San Mateo Daily Journal, “Burlingame staff is set to move to new City Hall at 1440 Chapin Ave.”
- Hoodline, “Burlingame City Hall packs up for Chapin Avenue as old building ages out,” August 2026
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