Portola Valley: Village Square Shopping Center sold Portola Valley: Village Square Shopping Center sold (April 13, 2005)

A couple of small residential rental properties and a hay storage facility may be added to the rear of the Village Square Shopping Center in Portola Valley if the new owner has his way.

He is Stanley Lo, a real estate broker in Hillsborough. In an interview with the Almanac, he confirmed the purchase but would not disclose the price of the April 1 transaction.

Mr. Lo said he plans no major changes to the 19,000 square feet of office and retail space located on 2.25 acres at 884 Portola Road, just north of Town Center.

The property includes a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage in the rear. Mr. Lo said he plans to add two new one-story, 900-square-foot cottages near the existing cottage and rent them to people of moderate to low incomes.

"A lot of people cannot afford to be able to live (in Portola Valley)," Mr. Lo said, adding: "I'm a good citizen. ... Portola Valley needs affordable rentals."

To proceed, Mr. Lo will need a zoning amendment, a general plan amendment and a use permit amendment, said planning manager Leslie Lambert.

"It will be political," she said. "I don't think it's going to be an easy project to push through."

E-mail a friend a link to this story.