Menlo Park: Three-story downtown building proposal clears another hurdle

Who owns 706-716 Santa Cruz. Menlo Presbeterian owns the hardware store building at 700 Santa Cruz.

Here we go again. Another misfit building being considered. Talk about changing the face of Menlo, which some like to think of as a village. Is Menlo trying to emulate Palo Alto, Redwood City? Or are we trying to remain unique between two Cities that have gone nuts redesigning their downtown. Surely the planners can come up with a better plan.

MP hasn't been a "village" for decades and our downtown looks like crap. It will be nice to have some new buildings there.

This is very smart use of space. I think every one of the single story buildings in MPK should be rebuilt with Condos/Housing above them.

Our housing density near downtown is abysmal.

Roy

This is sane, common sense downtown development, so I'm sure the "OMG YOU ARE DESTROYING OUR RURAL VILLAGE CHARACTER IN THE HEART OF SILICON VALLEY" crowd will no doubt come out in full force.

What is the justification for 2500 to 3500sf condos? That is ridiculously huge, especially for this setting, and I actually find it offensive (yet another instance of this area pushing out normal people). Many more needs would be met by having condos with a variety of more modest proportions.

I much prefer the earlier design shown at Web Link which appeared to have a brick facade and not simply concrete (or tile?). Let's make this building as attractive as possible. Brick would tie it to the only attractive existing building on Santa Cruz => the BBC.

@TG: My guess is that if you are going to have just one floor of units, it's easier to make them condos than try to have a property manager who can deal with rental apartments. And if you are going to have condos, you might as well make them pretty big because the parking requirement is a big chunk of the cost, and you need more parking spots for more units.

This does raise a related issue, though. Why can't he just build two stories of rental apartments? It turns out that there's a little-known provision in the Downtown Specific Plan that, if you want to construct a building with two stories of apartments above retail, the average size of the units needs to be about 2200 sq ft.That's bigger than most houses!

We should fix this. We've already got height limits, square footage limits, and setbacks. There's no need to limit the number of apartments someone can put in on top of that. If you want to live in 2000 sq ft, there's a lot of single-family home options. Menlo Park has a shortage of smaller, more affordable units.

This project has the potential to double the number of people out and about in downtown MP after dark from 8 to 16!

"What is the justification for 2500 to 3500 sf condos?"

They're called condos during the approval process, but once built may be leased as office. This happened on 1100 block of Crane with some second floor 'condos'.

2,500-3,500 SF condos? I guess that's OK if godzillionaires want to live in downtown MPark, but what will happen to Union Bank?

The 'design' looks like San Jose, not Menlo Park. There is a reason for architectural design that pleases the eye. This doesn't. And why doesn't the council or review board insist on foliage, like trees, bushes to help a large structure as this to be partially obscured?

Some people are clueless about aesthetics, but it's the responsibility of our local government to understand, promote and approve how our town looks.

Isn't the McDonald's lovely and stimulating to view whenever downtown on ElCamino? Or the 'Back'/Kinko's store?

Some of the buildings are rundown or could use upgrades. But to build massive complexes as this, particularly off the ECR looks out of place.

If you want a city feel and action, move to the city. Meanwhile, MP could use some restraint and their power to make improvements, developments work. Consider the large ones on ECR, both ends, in MP. What is the council going to do about the horrendous traffic that will then ensue?

Maybe they could build it underground and put a park on top so I'll have a place to walk my cat. Better yet, could they build it another town and just tell people it is in MP?

I just love our village like atmosphere from the quaint McDonalds to the town general store, I think they call it Draeger's. i'd hate to see anything to change that. I just don't know where I'll park electric horse thingy I got at the Tesla store if all this change happens. :(

Could you post the raw data for each question asked?

Mper: Not sure what you're saying, as comments to 'quaint' downtown are few. From where do you assume this thinking? As stated, I don't care for the design and think there could be better possibilities or improvements than this one. Nothing quaint or cutesy in that opinion, which is all it is.

I don't mind shops not looking their finest or plushest possible. There's way too much emphasis and time spent on how things and people look these days. And pre-determined, assumed judgements to match. Yes, your Tesla noted.

Was there more to this comment thread that I missed?

Beth:

I think MPer was being sarcastic.

Beth, there's quick money to be made by overdeveloping this city, and the few who stand to enrich themselves don't like to answer questions. So they mock anyone ("walking cats" = you must be crazy and old) who wonders at the desire to trash our city.

A lot of downtown buildings are dated and unattractive, but to abandon all aesthetic standards in favor of mass and highest density makes sense only when you realize it's all about making money for a few non-residents.

When is it going to stop. If the MP Council would address each project with the question: "Is this project going to increase the quality of life in Menlo Park or is it going to add more traffic, more crowding in the schools and more problems for the city?" Maybe then the Council would slow down and THINK about the future of the town.

Build it. It renovates our run down looking down town and provides needed housing.

MP Shopper, to answer your question and to expand on Follow the money's point: I don't think it will stop, because there's a LOT of money to be made, mostly by people who don't have to live with the consequences of this overbuilding.

I was on Santa Cruz Avenue yesterday, standing in front of the existing building and trying to envision a 3-story monolith, looming over the sidewalk below, in its place. I honestly can't imagine how a building of this size and bulk will impact on what is ~ let's be honest ~ a small, sleepy street. If the owner wants to replace the current building with an updated, attractive, 2-story structure, in keeping with the rest of Santa Cruz Avenue, I think that would be great. This proposal though, is a cookie-cutter McBuilding more in keeping with the more freeway-like sections of El Camino Real than with Santa Cruz Avenue. Even the street depicted in the artist's rendering looks far more like El Camino than Santa Cruz!

Despite the years and energy put into creating the downtown specific plan, I can't help but feel that these projects are evaluated in a vacuum, with insufficient thought given to the overall direction Menlo Park is taking, or to what all of this development will mean to the residents of our small city. I fear we're selling the soul of Menlo Park to big development, and in the end the cost will be much too high, and the net gain to residents will be much, much too low.

As long as the four condos remain in use as residential units only, I'm good with this. We need more housing, and nothing better than adding higher density housing along Santa Cruz Ave., in mixed-use buildings like this. Residential units above retail is what makes all the "squares" in the high-density urban Boston area feel like independent villages. If we want to increase local retail traffic and housing availability, this is the way to go. If the condos just become offices, then in my opinion, this is a much less attractive development proposal.

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