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Apartment buildings near downtown Menlo Park may be replaced by a five-story condominium building on Hoover Street, according to an application to redevelop the property.
Menlo Park-based Luxuriant Investments proposes to demolish three existing one- and two-story apartment buildings at 1300 and 1308 Hoover St. and replace them with a 34-unit, for-sale condominium project that is about 63 feet tall.
The proposal calls for a five-story residential building with 44 ground-floor parking spaces and four levels of housing on the 0.68-acre site. The project would include four below-market-rate (BMR) units: three for very low-income households; and one for a moderate-income household, allowing the developer to request a 70% density bonus under state law.
According to the application, base zoning would typically allow 20 units on the site. However, California’s density bonus law permits additional units in exchange for on-site affordable housing. All 34 units would be for sale, including the four deed-restricted BMR units.
Each BMR unit would be a two-bedroom, two-bath condo averaging about 1,220 square feet. The remaining market-rate units would be a mix of two- and three-bedroom floor plans.
The developer is also requesting concessions waiving certain requirements, including green building certification, undergrounding of utilities and recycled water plumbing, to help offset the cost of providing the BMR units.
The proposed building would be the tallest building in the vicinity at about 63 feet to the roofline, excluding mechanical equipment. The application states that adjacent multifamily buildings along Hoover Street are about 22 and 35 feet tall, while a 45-foot building sits at the rear along El Camino Real. If approved, construction is expected to take about 22 months.
Landscaping plans include new trees and drought-tolerant plants, though at least one heritage redwood and a large pine would be removed to accommodate a new driveway and utility equipment. The developer says other heritage trees on or near the site would be protected during construction and that new plantings would increase the site’s overall tree canopy over time.
The proposal is under review by Menlo Park’s planning department, which will evaluate it under Senate Bill 330 streamlining provisions and local zoning rules. The project would require several approvals before construction, including architectural control, a major subdivision to create separate condominium parcels, a BMR housing agreement and permits for heritage tree removal.
