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Developer St. Anton Partners has cleared 10 acres of land at 3639 Haven Ave., off Marsh Road, in Menlo Park in preparation for the construction of a 394-unit apartment complex.
The largest apartment project to arrive in Menlo Park in decades, the $120 million complex will include a sports pub, bike repair shop and dog daycare.
Facebook will subsidize 15 of the 37 affordable housing units. Construction is expected to start within a few weeks and finish in 2015, according to project representatives.
I thought the land in that area was pretty flat. Seems to have quite a slant to it.
This is the best time of year to walk up one of the small hills at Bayfront Park and be dazzled by the sunset (or close to) happening and throwing color onto the waterways with the ducks and wildlife. Wondrous moments and quite a few people daily park there to look.
Pretty soon there’s going to be a horribly ugly tall building smack in my eyesight. Nice going again, Menlo council. Do they pay attention to anything other than revenue coming in? This is also going to be awful for Marsh and Haven Roads.
@ Beth – How much research have you done on this project to make the comment “This is also going to be awful for Marsh and Haven Roads.” I would like to know the source of your study to make that statement. From published reports on SF Gate, facebook web site, biz journal and other news articles, this is actually a solution to the problem. It is a work/live complex. The majority will likely be fb employees. It is walking distance with a nice walking trail to fb. And because it is live/work – the revenue generated will stay in Menlo Park.It also has 15 below market units to allow for ‘affordable housing’ (not my term).
with regards to your comment “Pretty soon there’s going to be a horribly ugly tall building smack in my eyesight” again what source did you use?
This will be great! @Beth, you are totally wrong. Robert is right. New complexes means more business for Menlo Park shop owners. We really need that, as it seems downtown has been quiet for a while. And if you have no sunset to look at, just go somewhere else if you truly will kill for a sunset to watch.
Sorry Samantha but your wrong. Folks at the new apts will be shopping at Marsh Manor and Fair Oaks which is county or Redwood City all of which are quicker and closer than City of Menlo Park shops. And downtown RC is much more entertaining and foody than downtown MP. No tax dollars for MP.
Also hope those new apts are sound proof with the freeway on one side and Tyson Kennels on the other. Though Bayland Park is close for a plus.
@Beth,
From your vantage point on the Bayfront Park hill, I’m betting that you will see a minimum of view change. Although, it doesn’t say how high the buildings are, unless they are more than 3 stories, you shouldn’t be affected. HOWEVER, if SaltWorks goes through, then it will REALLY change. Look at a satellite map and then imagine 12,000 residential units….Game Over for peninsula traffic.
Don’t forget that another development, Greystar LLC , has submitted an application to build a 146-unit complex at 3645 Haven Ave. right next door. Head’s up folks, This industrial area is becoming gentrified with Bay View apartments.
Everyone must want to be near the Porsche dealership 😉
@Robert & Samantha – If it is really FB employees moving in, then great. If not, be ready for even greater gridlock on Marsh, Woodside and Willow.
As for helping out the MP economy, my guess is that the only local MP shop owners who will benefit will be those on the outer end of Willow near the FB Campus. From Haven St., it is much easier to travel to Marsh Manor or Woodside Rd and then downtown RWC. I would be surprised if there is much impact felt by the Menlo Park “downtown” shops. The only reason for me to shop in MP is Trader Joe’s and the occasional Safeway run and I live even closer to downtown MP than Haven Ave. The “corner store” in this neck of the woods is Key Market@ Marsh Manor.
A good shuttle system between this area and the downtown stores, restaurants and the train station would be a great investment. Now is the time to get commitments from the property owners.
Sorry Peter, but people love their cars. And there’s no way the youngins of FB would be caught dead in a shuttle bus to go shopping in MP. They’re more likely to take it to downtown RC in the evening for the vast variety of dinner, theater, music and liquid reffeshment and the safe ride home afterwards. Downtown MP just doesn’t have the pull.
@ whatever “Sorry Samantha but your wrong. Folks at the new apts will be shopping at Marsh Manor and Fair Oaks which is county or Redwood City all of which are quicker and closer than City of Menlo Park shops. And downtown RC is much more entertaining and foody than downtown MP. No tax dollars for MP”
Did you research this…. I mean have you read anything about this project. It is a work / live place, not a place to commute from. Of course fb cannot restrict, but it is limited. It seems as if you comment without research. I would love to know your ‘source’. as you can see I included sources, you simply inferred and I am surprised the almanac allowed that. Again, I have nothing to do with fb, and everything to do with MP and the growth. This is a positive. If you do your research you find everything from dog daycare / grooming to night life is inclusive and encourages those to stay in MP (let alone this place). Knowing this generation, this is like a college dorm near the campus and this will be treated as such. Therefore I challenge you to produce contradicting reports as I have found none.
Robert
Yes I’m siting my experience of 50 years in MP. And please tell us where that wonderful MP night life is located, Oasis? I’m talking tax dollars and customers. Redwood city is closer, more entertainment and restaurants and closer w/o running the gauntlet of Atherton cops.
Hi Robert,
Hate to gang up on you but have you spent much time in that neck of the woods? Given that traffic can be bad going into MP as well as onto the Dumbarton, the obvious “escape route” is Haven to Woodside Rd. From there, you don’t even need to get on the freeway to get to downtown RWC. Just take Veterans Blvd.
For you, in Felton Gables, it is a pretty easy call to go either to RWC or MP/PA. Not so for anyone living not only on the “other side of the tracks” (both of them including the freight line) but the freeway as well. The Marsh/Willow corridor basically implodes at rush hour. Toss in the bi-monthly wreck that freezes everything for an hour or 2 and I guarantee you that many will have no desire at all to travel into MP at all during the evening hours from that part of town.
If you want personal research to back this up, simply drive or bike (as is my favorite means of transportation) over to Haven and work your way backwards at rush hour into either MP or RWC. I can tell you from personal experience, RWC is shorter.
Last night I was in MP at 8:00PM – Pretty quiet. Not much foot traffic. Nothing to pull the youth & SV crowd $$ in. Unlike RWC, PA & MV, where there is much more to do for the younger, hipper crowd. That is where they will go. As you mentioned “nightlife” in MP, besides the restaurants and single art house movie theatre – what else is there to do in MP? There’s no clubbing, no live music venues, no hip, trendy bars – nothing….
From my viewpoint, this project might well help FB housing needs but have a negligible impact upon MP businesses and a possible exacerbation of current traffic woes.
I bicycle by the Menlo-Anton site every few weeks … it’s an odd place for a upscale apartment complex. It’s surrounded by light-industrial buildings and warehouses. It would be an easy bicycle ride to Facebook (and it wouldn’t ruin the view at Bayfront Park, Beth, it’s in completely the wrong direction) – but it’s isolation from any sort of restaurants or stores mean that people will probably hop in their cars a lot. Marsh Manor will probably see a bit more business; it’s good for them.
Did they get the number of affordable housing units reduced? I know they were seeking that. The only thing that truly bothers me about this place is that it seems the developer got the area re-zoned by saying they building N units of affordable housing, then tried to get the number reduced.
@ Richard – I do not see it at all as ganging-up. I think your opinion is valid and clearly stated. I would, however challenge a few thoughts.
1. Just because I live in Felton Gables does not mean I do not have a commute to work. I do commute to Bohannon – I am very familiar with the area
2. I would suggest reading the work/live environment planned on this which can be located on their web site and also highlights located. From doggy day care to nightlife – the master plan appears to be to keep them at their house when not at work. No clue if that will be a reality, but it does seem this is more consistent with what Google did in Mountain View and it seems to work there.
@whatever – without further information, I would suggest the two answers above is a good start/ Below should answer what it will look like and how tall
I would also recommend the following:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/07/23/menlo-park-to-see-first-apartments-in.html?page=all
http://www.sfgate.com/business/bottomline/article/Facebook-partner-to-build-Menlo-Park-housing-4860826.php
https://www.facebook.com/AntonMenlo
Again, I have no vested interest in this nor the El Camino Real projects except that I live and pay taxes here. So far fb has been a good neighbor to where I work and a good neighbor to my commute home with their current and planned improvements such as bike lanes painted green that they paid for.
Whatever is a person who doesn’t want to be confused with facts. She had an experience 50 years ago and the same experience 50 times. Her mind is closed.
Thanks Robert for the weblinks. It looks pretty cool. In fact, if that part of MP were to be further developed, I could envision a nice bayfront restaurant and club scene springing up. At least the music wouldn’t distract the neighbors, given that it is mostly light industry.
I will be interested to see how this goes in. I suppose the real impacts will only be felt when this is completed and the Gateway Hotel is also built.
Does anyone else see the Gateway project as a bookend (East to West) to Rosewood? If it turns out as nice as Rosewood, it’ll be nice for everyone.