Sand Hill Road hotel's design pays homage to Sunset Sand Hill Road hotel's design pays homage to Sunset (May 25, 2005)

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

First there was a Safeway project with architecture inspired by the Allied Arts Guild. Now a hotel plan paying homage to Sunset magazine is coming before Menlo Park officials.

Near the foothills west of Sand Hill Road, Stanford University officials are dreaming up a 120-room, 165,000-square-foot hotel with a restaurant, spa and fitness center and five extended-stay villas. The complex will also include 100,000 square feet of office space in a pair of two-story buildings.

Plans, which are coming before the Menlo Park City Council on May 24 for a study session, are far from detailed at this point. But in a project design concept presented to the city, Stanford officials are verbally sketching out a design "inspired by the rich heritage of the relaxed California Adobe vernacular."

Like the Sunset headquarters in Menlo Park, the complex at 2825 Sand Hill Road would have long, broad verandas, substantial adobe walls, low-pitch roofs and lots of natural light, Stanford officials wrote. It would also have "natural landscaping all in response to and in harmony with the coastal foothills," they wrote.

Officials plan to integrate the many buildings into a "village" of small structures and "intimate courtyards," with lots of views of the foothills. There would also be integration of use: office tenants would also be able to use the hotel's spa, fitness center and pool.

A total of 590 parking spaces would be created: 250 at grade and 340 underground.

Stanford may own the 21-acre triangle of land, but it won't be building the complex on its own. It's teamed up with the Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, whose network includes the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and the Caneel Bay resort in the Virgin Islands.

About a mile from Stanford, the sloping Menlo Park site is just southeast of the Interstate-280 Sand Hill Road interchange, surrounded by offices and the freeway. The grassy parcel is currently vacant.

At this point, the applicants are looking for feedback from the City Council before they zero in on a more detailed plan, city development services manager Justin Murphy said in a staff report. No formal action can be taken in Tuesday's study session, but the council can give direction and responses to the plan.

The large plan would require many studies and approvals, including an environmental impact report and trips to the Planning Commission and City Council. The project would require at least one exception to current city regulations; the maximum building height allowed is 30 feet, and this plan calls for 35, Mr. Murphy wrote.

But the project will definitely be considered top priority by city staff, due to its prominent location and potential to generate much city revenue in sales and hotel taxes, he added.

INFORMATION

A Menlo Park City Council study session on Stanford University's hotel plan begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. To read the staff report, go to menlopark.org, click on "City Council" and go to the May 24 agenda. Call 330-6620 for more information.

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