The Peninsula Open Space Trust, based on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park for 28 years, is moving to Palo Alto.
The nonprofit organization, which has raised funds to save thousands of acres as open space and parkland in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, announced August 24 that it has purchased a building at 222 High St. for $5 million and plans to move in early next year.
POST has been renting space at 3000 Sand Hill Road.
The High Street building was purchased from the Foundation for Global Community, which plans to move into smaller quarters across the street, said POST President Audrey Rust.
No donor money was used in the purchase, Ms. Rust said. The money came from earnings on the foundation’s investment portfolio, she said.
POST’s 24 employees will move from 3,600 square feet of office space with no conference room to 8,600 square feet with a big conference room and several smaller ones.
“Most of what we do is negotiate,” Ms. Rust said.
POST board member Allan Brown said the move is an opportunity to “walk the talk” on protecting the environment. The building is equipped with solar panels, and is easily accessible by public transportation, which will “hopefully decrease our collective fuel consumption,” he said.
Ms. Rust said this signals POST’s “continued and long-term commitment” to open space protection.
POST board chair Susan Ford Dorsey said the new office space will help POST “grow and expand its efforts to protect the beauty, character and diversity” of the Peninsula.
