Landmark Plaza, Daly City, California, United States

In designing Landmark Plaza, DIAP faced the challenges of a long, narrow, and steeply sloping site. The 90’ to 110’ width of the site left little room for open space and size able units, while the 700’ length of the site made it difficult to avoid massive and overpowering elevations. There is a 35’ difference in grade across the 110’ width of the south end of the site between Hillside Boulevard and Mission Street.

DIAP took advantage of the slope of the site by fitting parking garages into the hill, behind the retail and live/work units, with residential units on the podium above. A portico along the sidewalk creates an inviting pedestrian environment despite the busy street. While the project is unified at the street level, it is broken up into separate buildings above the podium. This allows for open spaces and breaks up the long mass of the building. DIAP designed interlocking units to provide spacious living areas despite the narrow site and managed to fit 95 units and ample private and common open space on the 1.37 acre site. In the second phase, an office building will be built at the corner. The combination of retail, live/work units and condominiums maximizes the value of this extremely difficult site.