Menlo Park: Downtown project -- 137 apartments planned Menlo Park: Downtown project -- 137 apartments planned (January 21, 2004)

** The housing would be near public transit.

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

A project planned for downtown Menlo Park at El Camino Real and Oak Grove Avenue would contain 137 apartments and 17,000 square feet of retail space, a developer said last week.

Located close to public transit just west of the railroad tracks, the apartments would ideally be located behind the commercial space on Oak Grove, with the living units in several three-story buildings clustered around open courtyards, Jim Pollart of the San Mateo-based O'Brien Group said.

"We think it's important to avoid massive and monolithic buildings," he said.

Colorful site map in hand, Mr. Pollart was speaking before the Menlo Park City Council at a special study session held January 13 to provide more information on the project. An application has not yet been filed with the city, and the details are still being hammered out, Mr. Pollart said.

The developer is targeting the spring of 2005 for the project groundbreaking.

The project covers 3.47 acres on Oak Grove and tiny Derry Lane that have been owned for generations by the Derry family, Mr. Pollart said. The O'Brien Group is partnering with the family to build on the land, he told the council, adding, "The Derry family plans to own it for the long term."

Mr. Pollart told the council that the apartments would be "luxury" dwellings, later saying he used the term because of the planned "high-quality finishes and amenities" and in-unit washer and dryer. Luxurious or no, 15 percent of the apartments will be rented at below-market rates, he said. They're planned to include junior one-bedrooms as well as one-, two-, and three-bedrooms.

When designing the homes, it will be important to try to mitigate noise from the nearby train tracks, Mr. Pollart said. San Jose architect Robert Steinberg, whose family firm also designed the Crane Place senior home in Menlo Park and the Tech Museum of San Jose, is set to be the architect on the project.

Currently, the property is home to several businesses, including Foster's Freeze and Wo Sing Laundry & Dry Cleaners. Mr. Pollart has said some of them might move into the planned new retail space, but that the possibilities are still being discussed.

Although the meeting called for no council action, some of the council members made positive comments about the project.

"I'm encouraging you to go forward," Chuck Kinney said, and Mickie Winkler concurred.

Despite the fact that there are few residences close by, Paul Collacchi urged Mr. Pollart to do some more public outreach to disseminate information and gather opinions on the project.

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