With Menlo Park’s downtown poised for revitalization, eyes are turning to the luxurious Middle Plaza development at 500 El Camino Real, filled with fine jewelry and watches and topped with fine dining.
The ambitious retail hub boasts “ultra-luxurious” development and stores, calling itself “Silicon Valley’s answer to Rodeo Drive.” The project is a collaboration between the late John Arrillaga Sr., the real estate developer who died in January; Stephen and Jared Silver, owners of the local Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry; and Stanford University.
The project was approved in late 2017 by the Menlo Park City Council. The three-story development is themed by floor, with the ground floor featuring six or seven branded boutique stores, including a Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry flagship store, a Bulgari boutique and stores dedicated to Swiss watchmakers.
The second floor will showcase products from MESSIKA, Hermes and other high-end brands. Jared Silver worked with architect John de la Cruz to create the showroom area that mimicked a luxury apartment, where everything is for sale, from jewelry to watches to artwork. The faux-apartment consists of an entertaining space, dining room, kitchen and wrap-around patio.
“(Cruz) has this sort of quintessential California luxury feeling, where it’s embracing … this natural environment,” Jared Silver told The Almanac.
Silver describes the sale items as a “cabinet of curiosities” where customers could stumble across a watch brand or artist they had never heard of before.
“The idea is that when you walk in anything you see is something that you can integrate into your life should it inspire you,” Silver said.
The over 35,000-square-foot development is intended to serve customers in the Bay Area, many of which consistently rank in the wealthiest zip codes in the United States. Last year, Atherton ranked as the most expensive zip code in the country, according to Forbes.
Silver said that he hoped to stay true to the style of the Bay Area, as he grew up locally. He said that the Bay Area has a different style, energy and culture from other parts of California, let alone other luxury locations.
Still, Silver said he hopes that Middle Plaza will be open to all, and even believes that clients will come from overseas to visit the retail hub.
The third floor of the development houses Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry’s salon space and new corporate headquarters in a penthouse-style plan. The retail hub will also feature high-end restaurants, including restaurateur Ayesha Thapar’s newest restaurant, Eylan. Eylan is the “encore” to Thapar’s Michelin-starred Ettan in Palo Alto.
Email Staff Writer Cameron Rebosio at crebosio@almanacnews.com.
