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The initial proposal by Stanford University and developer John Arrillaga for El Camino Real shocked the Menlo Park community with the amount of medical office and general office space it included. Revisions have changed the current iteration substantially, but not enough to suit the City Council, which recently indicated that the project requires further refinement to minimize traffic impacts and the amount of office space included.
■ Location: 500 El Camino Real (300-550 El Camino Real, vacant car dealership lots). Approximately 8 acres.
■ Total square footage: 413,200 to 459,013 square feet. (Of that, 209,500 would be for nonresidential use.)
■ Net new nonresidential: 181,568 square feet, according to the city. A project’s new net footage counts toward the specific plan’s development caps. It’s calculated by taking the total proposed square footage of the new project and subtracting the square footage of previous uses on the site and prior approved projects that had undergone environmental impact review, according to the city.
■ Percentage by use: 49 to 54 percent residential; up to 48 percent general office; up to 2 percent retail.
■ Building heights: The plans are far from final. The most recent set, according to the city of Menlo Park, has one four-story (60 feet high with setbacks) office building, two three-story office buildings (45.5 feet high) and two residential buildings with five stories (57 feet high). For comparison, Menlo Center is 48 feet tall.
■ Parking: Primarily underground; entrance off El Camino Real at Middle Avenue.
■ Public open space: Plaza at Middle Avenue (design to be determined).
■ Public benefits: The project does not trigger negotiations for public benefit under the specific plan’s thresholds, which would not be changed by Measure M. Stanford has committed to redesigning the public plaza at the center of the complex as well as making “a substantial contribution” to construction of a pedestrian bicycle undercrossing from Middle Avenue to Burgess Park. The specific plan requires 30 percent open space, including a public plaza, and 15-foot wide sidewalks on this site.
■ Traffic studies: As a whole, the specific plan assumed 4,842 daily trips generated by development on Stanford’s property. The current mixed-use proposal is projected to create 3,115, according to an analysis by consulting firm W-Trans. The study also projects 528 more daily trips along Middle Avenue if Stanford builds the mixed-use complex. The specific plan anticipated an additional 222 daily trips on the street from whatever was built within the specific plan area.
■ Environmental impact report required: Yes.
■ What happens if M passes: Stanford representatives have said they will start over. The revisions, such as elimination of medical office and undercrossing contribution, will no longer be in effect.
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