A San Francisco-based developer is looking to build a condominium community with 137 dwellings next to the playing fields in the Palo Alto Baylands, according to plans that were submitted to the city last week.
The proposed development would occupy a triangular 11-acre site encompassing two parcels between 2100 and 2400 blocks of Geng Road, just east of U.S. Highway 101. The properties currently include an office park with two story-buildings that would be demolished to accommodate the new residential community, according to the project plans.
Located just south of the Baylands Athletic Center, the residential community would include three types of townhomes. Submitted plans show 21 buildings lined up in a row directly south of the playing fields. These homes would feature backyards that separate the homes from the open space preserve.
Just south of these townhomes, and separated by a new road, would be 26 additional residential buildings, arranged in two parallel roads. These would be alley-loaded townhomes, with garages in the rear that lead into alleyways.
The remaining townhomes would be arranged in clustered buildings throughout the site, according to Michael Cohen, managing principal for the developer, Strada Investment Group.
The application shows that there would be a total of 64 structures, according to the application. They would all be three-story homes, about 44 feet in height, and featuring balconies, roof decks and garages with parking for cars and bikes. All units will be for sale, with 18 designated for low-income households, according to the project plans.
The proposed development is unusual mainly for its location. Over the past two years, the city has received numerous proposals for housing projects in prominent commercial areas, including El Camino Real, San Antonio Road and University Avenue. The City Council has already rezoned portions of San Antonio and El Camino to allow more height and density in these areas, which city officials are banking on to accommodate more than 2,000 dwellings.
The Geng Road project, meanwhile, targets an area that has rarely featured in local debates about new housing: the commercial area east of the highway. Cohen wrote in a letter to the city that the goal is to transform an “underutilized business park” into a new residential neighborhood with community open spaces. The project, he wrote, will provide “both much needed housing and new homeownership opportunities in the city and region.”
He noted that the layout of the townhomes is designed to minimize the visibility of alleys from public viewpoints and to create shared green spaces for the new dwellings. Each townhome will have off-site parking for residents, with additional parking available for guests around the community’s central green space.
“The project design features contemporary architectural design that blends well with the surrounding context while setting a precedent for the transformation of predominantly office-oriented uses in the East of 101 area into residential neighborhoods,” Cohen wrote to the city.
Based in San Francisco, Strada has a real estate portfolio that includes commercial, recreational and residential projects, big and small. The company notably has served as the development manager of Chase Center, a performance venue that opened in 2019 and that serves as the home court of the Golden State Warriors.
Strada is also currently developing a mixed-use project with 525 apartments next to the Lake Merritt BART station in Oakland and it won approval in 2018 for a 131-townhome development in Redwood City, at 1548 Maple St.
