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Editor’s note: this story was updated to include statements from the Menlo Park Historical Association.
The Menlo Park Historical Association has sponsored an application to add the site of the former Sunset Magazine headquarters, where a developer has proposed a controversial large-scale development, to the National Register of Historic Places.
The nomination, which was prepared by Los Angeles-based historic preservation consultants Chattel, Inc., proposes that the site should be added to the register based on two criteria: that the property embodies the distinctive characteristics of architect Cliff May and his ranch-style construction, and that the property is associated with significant historical events, namely its association with Sunset Magazine during its most influential period.
The State Historical Resources Commission will review the nomination on Feb. 7.
“The National Registry will evaluate the application based strictly on Sunsets historical criteria,” said a spokesperson for the MPHA in an email to this news organization. “The MPHA board of directors felt compelled to fulfill our mission statement which is to preserve the history of Menlo Park. MPHA is not in this to be political, but simply want to recognize the property as historic. This may mean that only a plaque be placed on the property in commemoration of Sunset Magazine.”
If the property is found to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources, it could make it harder for developer N17 to build what has been proposed for the site. The owner of the site does not have to consent for the property to be added to the register; the State Historical Resources Commission can deem a property historic over an owner’s objections.
The historical significance of buildings and properties is considered throughout the California Environmental Quality Act review process, which is required of developments that may result in an adverse change in the environment like the one proposed for the site. Impacts to a resource listed in the California Register of Historical Resources must be considered in the environmental review of a site.
Robert Chattel, president of Chattel, Inc., said in an interview with this news organization that listing of a property to the National Register “simply confirms that the property is a historical resource and should be treated as such.”
According to the Office of Historical Preservation, “CEQA requires identification and mitigation of potential significant effects, but it doesn’t stop a project.” Once an environmental impact report has been drawn up, a decision-making body can approve a project, even if it has significant, unavoidable impacts — though the law does require mitigation of impacts when feasible. Significant impacts include demolition, destruction and relocation of the historical resource.
Impacts to an historical site can be mitigated to a “less than significant impact” if a project follows the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the treatment of historic properties, said Chattel.
However, Oisin Heneghan, the founder of N17 Development, said he is not worried about the future of the development because “state law (State Sen. Bill 330) prevents this type of nomination from having any effect on the planning process.”
“We are in the midst of a historic housing crisis. There is no shortage of vacant mid-century office buildings,” said Heneghan in an email to this news organization. “Unfortunately, across Menlo Park and the surrounding towns, there is a small group of people who oppose all new mixed-income housing developments.”
Renderings made public by the developer show that the project, dubbed “Willow Park,” would consist of three towers ranging from 301 to 446 feet, and would contain 665 housing units, 133 of which would be affordable. There would also be more than 350,000 square feet of office space, a Montessori school, a 130-room hotel and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail space.
History of the property
The 6.7-acre site located at 80 Willow Road housed Sunset Magazine from the time the building was constructed in 1951 until 2015, when the magazine moved to new headquarters at Jack London Square in Oakland. The site, known as the “laboratory for western living,” was designed by famed architect Cliff May, who is considered by many to be the father of the California ranch-style house.
The landscaping at the site, which has also been listed as an important feature in the National Register nomination form, was done by Thomas Dolliver Church, who is considered by many to be a pioneering modern landscape architect. Church designed the landscape at the Sunset Magazine site in several climate “zones” to demonstrate the different areas of the American West, according to the nomination form.
The site is being nominated to the register not just for its architectural significance, but for its association with Sunset Magazine, which “greatly influenced public perception of the West.” According to the form, the building was at one point “one of the most popular tourist attractions in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
Sunset Magazine was first launched in 1898 by the Southern Pacific Railroad to “entice Americans living in eastern states into going west,” and to challenge the perception of the west as “lawless and barren” by promoting the region’s economic opportunities, recreational opportunities and desirable climate. The company was sold to Lane Publishing Company in 1928, which revamped the publication to become the “Magazine of Western Living.
The magazine and its headquarters were acquired by Time Warner (later Time Inc.) in 1990, and after employment at the site decreased due to a changing media landscape, Time Inc. sold the property to Embarcadero Capital Partners in 2014, and it was sold again in 2019 to an LLC controlled by Vitaly Yusufov, who is the son of former Russian energy minister Igor Yusufov, according to the Wall Street Journal.
May designed several other buildings that are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, including the iconic Robert Mondavi winery in Napa, and several ranch-style homes throughout the state.
Chattel, Inc. has experience with successfully nominating buildings designed by May for placement on the register. In July 2024, the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center in Ventura County, also designed by Cliff May, was successfully recognized on the National Register of Historic Places following a nomination prepared by Chattel, Inc.
“I think the reason why the Menlo Park Historical Association reached out to us is because we have experience with buildings designed by Cliff May,” said Chattel.
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Nothing more than a Hail Mary to delay/stop development. The Dutch Goose has more historical significance in Menlo Park.
If Oisin Heneghan cared a whit about improving the housing situation in Menlo Park he would be building 100% housing with supporting retail and services on the ground floor, not a project that will generate 3x to 4x as many jobs as housing units. He doesn’t seem to be able to perform the simple arithmetic that plagues his project to a hugely net negative jobs / housing imbalance. We need more offices and hotels like we need a hole in the head.
Yep, Cliff May’s architectural heritage is worthy of preservation, as is nature. Also, not building the monstrosity that is proposed is worthy goal as well. There has to be a balance between aesthetic construction and housing. These buildings will outlive us, Menlo is not downtown Hong Kong, the scale is utterly wrong and will tower over everything as a visual eyesore and light polluter. Every time I see a proposal supported by the Yimby group it is something aesthetically horrible and supersized like a bad McMansion, but of the skyscrapper variety. There are beautiful green building higher density buildings that can be built, and putting these buildings in the place of a Cliff May design is a horrible swap.
Hail Mary, indeed. Sometimes they’re successful…let’s hope this one is. Kudos to the MPHS and Chattel for calling the play.
SB330 applies only for local ordinances changes that cannot be changed after application was deemed complete but this “historical designation” will be a state designation as historical building under CEQA that overrides SB330. Short answer, if the state designates Sunset building as a Landmark is game over for developer.