Publication Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Changes ahead for housing project
Changes ahead for housing project
(October 12, 2005) To comply with zoning regulations, BUILD reduces number of units
by Jocelyn Dong
Predicting political and financial pressures, a housing developer is scaling back its project in south Palo Alto.
BUILD, a San Francisco-based housing firm, had planned about 230 residential units at 901 San Antonio Road, adjacent to the anticipated Campus for Jewish Life. Originally, the developer aimed to break the city's 50-foot height limit with a 4-story building over a ground-level parking garage.
Now, BUILD wants to construct about 155 units, according to the company's vice president Lydia Tan. One hundred of those will be market-rate row homes, and 55 will be apartments for seniors of low or extremely low income.
Tan cited Palo Alto's height limit as one reason for changing the plans. The company's first proposal for a condominium complex would have soared to 62 feet in some areas.
A hearing before the city's Planning and Transportation Commission last December actually lent some support for breaking the height restriction, because the project is located in an industrial area. Also, the Sun Microsystems headquarters -- which the housing development will replace -- is currently 96 feet.
But some community members said that violating the height limit would set a precedent in Palo Alto, opening the door for other tall developments.
In addition to the height issue, the development's expenses were beginning to escalate.
"The proposal we put in front of the city ... felt like it was sort of stretching the limits in many respects," Tan said. "To make the building safe, the costs were going up. It was starting to feel uncomfortable."
The new proposal, although still in a preliminary stage, will likely include 2- and 3-bedroom row homes of about 1,200- to 1,600-square feet.
Most will be two stories and built over a ground-level parking garage, which is necessary because the property is located in a flood zone. Some units may be located near the street level to create an atmosphere conducive to pedestrians, Tan said.
Because the units will be larger than the previously proposed condominiums, the sale price will also be higher, she added. However, they probably won't be as expensive as the D.R. Horton homes planned for the former Rickey's Hyatt site on El Camino Real, because the type of housing is different.
Rents for the senior apartments will not change. According to the redesign, however, the units will be located along Fabian Way instead of San Antonio Road. That part of the development will be built by Bridge Housing Corporation, a nonprofit affiliate of BUILD. "BUILD" stands for Bridge Urban Infill Land Development.
Because of the popularity of townhouses in the Palo Alto housing market, the design changes may work in the company's favor, even if the market does take a downturn, as some have predicted. That wasn't a factor in making changes to the development, though, Tan said.
BUILD is hoping to appear before the Architectural Review Board in the third week of November, at which point the firm will have its plans more fully detailed.
Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
