A proposal for 135 for-sale condominiums and 22,252 square feet of commercial space for office and retail use between El Camino Real and the Menlo Park train station was approved 4-1 by the City Council on August 29.
Eight three- and four-story structures are planned for a 3.5-acre site near the intersection of Oak Grove Avenue and El Camino Real.
The Derry family, which owns the site, has partnered with the Foster City-based O’Brien Group in the project, which has been in the making for about three years.
Mayor Nicholas Jellins labeled final approval of the project “a great moment for the city of Menlo Park,” noting that the project should be considered one of many steps taken to update and improve El Camino Real.
Councilman Andy Cohen opposed the proposal, arguing the project doesn’t earmark sufficient space for retail uses, which would garner the city much-needed sales tax revenue. He also said the project would create significant traffic delays.
Retail is expected to occupy the first floor of the project — about 10,200 square feet — and the remaining commercial space is expected to house offices, according to city staff.
The project includes 341 at-grade and underground parking spaces.
The one- and two-bedroom condominiums range from 900 square feet to 1,300 square feet, and would sell for an estimated $650,000 to $850,000, “in today’s market,” said Jim Pollart, vice president of land acquisitions and planning for the O’Brien Group.
Twenty-one of the condominiums will be below-market-rate units.
The city will collect an estimated $5.7 million in fees associated with the project, including a $4.3 million “in-lieu” fee for its lack of a park.
Once finished, the project is expected to provide the city an estimated $130,000 a year in property and sales tax, Mr. Pollart said.
The O’Brien Group and the Derry family are also providing funds to the city to construct a lighted crosswalk across Oak Grove Avenue.
The project is the second major development approved for the El Camino Real corridor in the past three weeks: A proposal by John Beltramo to build a 26,800-square-foot commercial building and 16 two-story townhouses near the intersection of Valparaiso Avenue and El Camino Real was approved by the council August 9.
Higher density
In approving the project, the city amended the general plan, and changed the zoning of the site to allow about 39 residences per acre — more than twice what is intended for the site in the city’s general plan.Six residents spoke against the project, arguing that because the council is considering proposals and amending the general plan on a “piecemeal basis,” the city is failing to acknowledge the comprehensive effects — impacts on schools, traffic and infrastructure — that may result from high-density housing on El Camino Real.
“The potential [in the Derry project] is there, but it needs to fit the zoning,” said Elias Blowie. “We’re just changing the rules.”
“El Camino Real can’t support this kind of development, and the schools can’t support this kind of development,” said Chuck Bernstein. “There’s no benefit at all.”
Council members Kelly Fergusson and Andy Cohen seconded many of the speakers’ concerns, but Ms. Fergusson still voted in favor of the project.
“I’m going to support this project because it is beautiful, but I think we’ve sold out,” she said.
Foster’s Freeze
Existing businesses on the site will be demolished to make way for the project, including Foster’s Freeze, a local landmark and favorite ice cream and hamburger stop.Mr. Pollart said the O’Brien Group and the Derry family are working with the owner to help the shop relocate to a new Menlo Park site.
Brady Gallagher, 13, of Menlo Park, said he and his brother, Nicky, 12, gathered about 800 signatures on a petition to save Foster’s Freeze.
“We’ve shown the O’Brien Group how much Foster’s means to the community,” Brady said at the council meeting. “We weren’t able to save the building … but that’s better than not having any Foster’s at all.”
Foster’s Freeze opened in 1949, according to records checked by Frank Helfrich of the Menlo Park Historical Association.
Mr. Cohen said that because the developers aren’t required to relocate Foster’s Freeze, the store may “never show up on a [Menlo Park] property again.”
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