Council expected to pass plan for Emporium site Council expected to pass plan for Emporium site (November 19, 2004)

Building would be demolished soon if medical office proposal approved

By Kathy Schrenk

The long struggle to develop one of the most high-profile vacant parcels in the city may finally draw to a close Tuesday with a vote of the city council.

The council will decide whether to change the zoning of the former Emporium site -- 9.14 acres at El Camino Real and Highway 85 that have been vacant for nearly a decade. If it does so and grants the several permits needed, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation will be able to go ahead with plans to build 250,000 square feet of medical offices there, making it the headquarters of its subsidiary Camino Medical Group.

The zoning change is expected to get the support of the seven-member panel. Council member Mike Kasperzak supports the project and is confident the rest of his fellow council members do as well. "I am not anticipating that the council would stray from the recommendation of the planning commission," he said.

This is despite the fact that the project won't bring in tax revenue, like a retail establishment would. "Retail would have been better for the bottom line of the city, but cities are not for bringing in revenue -- they're for improving the quality of life for citizens. I think this will add to the quality of life of Mountain View," Kasperzak said.

Nonetheless, the foundation and its donors, who expect their proposal to be passed, will make a $5 million donation to the Mountain View Senior Center next week to help offset the city's loss of sales tax revenue, Camino Medical Group CEO Dr. Richard Slavin said.

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation plans to buy the property from the Tan Group, added Slavin.

Home Depot currently leases the property and had planned to build a large warehouse store there. But voters rejected the plan by a two-to-one margin in March 2002.

The foundation's plans for the site include offices for 100 doctors, an outpatient radiology department, pediatric family practices and other medical specialists, Slavin said. The Camino Medical Group's offices are currently headquartered in a 50-year-old building, and doctors are scattered in multiple offices around the city, he said. The group's doctors want new headquarters so they can work closer together and improve patient convenience, he said.

The new building will be three stories tall and will appear that way on the El Camino Real side, but will reveal only two stories on the side facing residential properties on The Americana because of a 10-foot elevation change across the site, Slavin said. There will be 1,100 parking spots on site, he added.

With the council's approval, Camino Medical officials hope to demolish the Emporium building in February, breaking ground soon after and opening the facility in 2007.

Neighbors of the site like the medical office plans, said Lawrence Vallandigham, who actively campaigned against the Home Depot ballot measure and lives about half a mile from the site.

"We think it's the right project at the right time," Vallandigham said. Neighbors were concerned with the every-day issues of having a big retail store nearby, like loud truck deliveries and traffic problems.

But they also wanted to see something built there that was more appropriate for a gateway to the city, he said. The city rezoned the site a "gateway/landmark" site, codifying its importance as a highly visible site on the city's southern border.

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