Mountain View greenlights three-story office addition for downtown historic Jurian building

One of Mountain View’s oldest and most prominent buildings is about to undergo some major renovations. A developer has proposed to add a three-story office extension to the Jurian, a historic building at 194-198 Castro Street that is well known for its mission revival style.

In a unanimous vote, the Mountain View City Council approved a recommendation on Tuesday evening to allow the project to move forward with its plans to restore the Jurian and put in an office addition.

Built in 1913, the Jurian has had a plentiful roster of tenants but relatively few owners, just three. The project applicant, Chee-Yee Chong, purchased the Jurian in 1986, jumping at the chance to own one of the nicest buildings in Mountain View, he said.

“It’s really pride of ownership,” Chong said at the Oct. 8 meeting, adding that he wanted to set an example for others to renovate their buildings on Castro Street too.

Restoring the Jurian’s facade is just one part of the project plans. The main component is putting in a lot more offices. The existing two-story, 7,608 square foot building has a Mexican restaurant on the ground floor and offices above it as well as an outdoor dining patio along Villa Street.

Chong is proposing to construct a three-story, 5,733 square foot office addition to the existing building. Plans for the 0.14-acre property include ground floor retail and two levels of administrative offices with a roof deck on the third floor.

The office extension is designed in a contemporary style and meant to complement the Jurian’s architectural style. It’s not meant to overshadow or overplay the Jurian or other surrounding historic buildings, said John Tabuena-Frolli, the project architect.

For Council member Alison Hicks, who has a background in historic preservation, the project was checking off all the right boxes, she said. “It’s not fake historic,” she said, adding that the office extension was not trying to outshine the Jurian.

But Hicks also expressed concern about the ground floor use of the building – an issue that Council member Lisa Matichak and the community group Livable Mountain View raised in their comments about the proposed renovations as well.

In the past, developers have agreed to allow public access to the ground floor of their office complexes, but then have pulled back on this promise. This was the case for Bryant Park Plaza at 900 Villa St. in which the developer had indicated the ground floor would be for retail use. Instead, the ground floor is functioning as a lobby and a security guard has been stationed at the building’s entrance to deter people from entering, Hicks said.

Chong assured the council that this was not intent, and said that he would even consider leasing the ground floor of the building extension at a low cost to encourage more activity downtown.

Community Development Director Christian Murdock added that it would be difficult to have non-retail or non-restaurant uses like offices on the ground floor in this part of the downtown because it was not a permitted use, he said.

Council members also raised some concern about the issue of parking for the office workers. On-site parking is not required for the project because it is located within one-half mile of public transit. Instead, the developer can pay an in-lieu for the parking spaces, which Chong has opted to do.

As of now, it has not been determined how the in-lieu fees will be used. It depends on the timing of the project, according to city staff.

Council member Ellen Kamei asked how parking will be handled during construction. The architect said it would be determined at a later time, but expressed a willingness to keep the public informed and to continue working with the city to develop a plan to minimize disturbances.

While there was some discussion about possible tweaks to the project’s design, the council was highly supportive of the project overall, commending Chong and the architect for their commitment to preserving the Jurian’s historicity.

“This seems like a great project and it’s a beautiful building, and it seems like it’s just going to get more beautiful,” said Mayor Pat Showalter.

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