New preliminary application for development of former Sunset magazine site has been filed

Emails Menlo Park City Council member Jen Wolosin:

Last night the City updated its Builder’s Remedy FAQ with information about a new prelimanary development application for the 80 Willow Road project (former Sunset Magazine site). You can find this update on the Housing Element webpage.

Please scroll to the bottom of the page to the red accordion tab labeled “Frequently asked questions”. Within that tab, there are a number of FAQs. The tab “Has the City received any project applications which assert to be filed under the Builder’s Remedy” contains the updated information.

The newly submitted application, which was filed by the same applicant, is intended to replace the prior two preliminary applications. Incredibly, the height and scale of the project has increased (see below). The tallest building proposed is now 421 feet tall.

Like the first two proposals, I find this submission to be outrageously out of scale from what is a reasonable. The City Council has worked hard to designate sites for housing development throughout the City during the Housing Element process, and rezoned land to enable that development. This project is completely inconsistent with what we had planned.

There remain many unknowns about Builder’s Remedy projects, and I don’t really have any more information about what this means at this time. As an aside, the City’s Housing Element is still under review by The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The due date for the City to receive comments back from HCD is January 5th.

I know this information will be a cause of great anxiety and concern for many. I will continue to update you as I learn more.

Details of 80 Willow Road (Former Sunset Magazine Site)
New Proposal:
Building 1: 300,000 sf office, 5,000 sf retail; 305 feet tall
Building 2: 238 residential units, 162 hotel rooms, 5,000 sf retail; 421 feet tall
Building 3: 505 residential units, 5,000 sf retail; 371 feet tall
Total residential: 743 units (*plans also note 805 units)(density 111 du/ac) and 780,400 sf (approximately 2.67 FAR)
Total non-residential: 300,000 sf office, 15,000 sf retail, 128,635 sf hotel (approximately 1.52 FAR)

Prior Proposal 1:
Building 1: 320 residential units, 150 hotel rooms (90,000 sf), 4,200 sf retail, 349 feet tall
Building 2: 480 residential units, 4,200 sf of retail, 280 feet tall
Building 3: 280,000 sf office/R&D, 246 feet tall
Building 4: residential amenity, 30 feet tall
Total residential: 800 units and approximately 859,700 sf (approximately 2.95 floor area ratio)
Total non-residential: 280,000 sf of office/R&D, 8,400 retail, 90,000 sf hotel (approximately 1.3 floor area ratio)

Prior Proposal 2:
Building 1: 320 residential units, 150 hotel rooms (90,000 sf), 4,200 sf retail, 349 feet tall
Building 2: 480 residential units, 4,200 sf of retail, 280 feet tall
Building 3: 350 residential units, 50,000 sf office/R&D, 197 feet tall
Building 4: residential amenity, 30 feet tall
Total residential: 1,150 residential units and approximately 1,232,100 sf (approximately 4.2 floor area ratio)
Total non-residential FAR: 50,000 sf office/R&D, 8,400 sf retail, 90,000 sf hotel (approximately .5 floor area ratio)