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A key gateway to downtown Mountain View is poised to undergo major changes, with a proposal to redevelop the Chase Bank at the corner of Castro Street and El Camino Real Avenue with hundreds of apartments.
The project is an extensive revamp of 749 W. El Camino Real Ave., proposed by developer Greystar. The project would significantly ramp up density at the site, spanning from Castro to Lane Avenue across just over 3 acres, with a mix of commercial and residential uses up to six stories tall.
The project calls for razing and rebuilding the Chase Bank while adding a central public plaza that faces El Camino Real Avenue. A six-story residential building would be behind the bank, bringing 299 apartment units to the site, of which 33 would be affordable.
The project makes full use of the city’s El Camino Real Precise Plan, which allows for taller, higher-density buildings with a mix of uses along the transit corridor. Greystar also met the 15% threshold for affordable housing and qualified for a density bonus under state law, which added 90 more residential units to the site, Community Development Director Aarti Shrivastava said.
Along with housing, the project includes a total of 22,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, which includes the bank and public plaza, and aims to increase walkability and ‘activate’ the property with outdoor seating, restaurants and retail, according to the plan submitted to the city.
But while Greystar describes the community benefits of the project, questions remain about what will happen to the artistic and architectural heritage of Chase Bank. The plan to demolish and rebuild the bank in an entirely different style has raised concerns among some residents, said Louise Katz, who has been following the development as a local resident and member of Livable Mountain View.
The bank’s origins go back to the mid-1970s, Katz said, when the City Council commissioned the studio of Millard Sheets, a famous artist and architectural designer, to design a new Home Savings Bank that would reflect the history of Mountain View. In 1977, Sheets installed a glass mosaic panel above the bank’s entrance. The scenes show how the city was built and changed over time by people living in the area.
“He designed the mural to represent and document the development of Silicon Valley, which is why there’s an image of a Native American, farmer and so on. And the order in which the mosaics appear tell this story,” Katz said. “So, if you take the mosaic out of order, which is one of the ideas (of the developer), to scatter them around the plaza, people will just kind of wander around and look at it. There’s no more story,” she added.
When asked about the preservation of the mural, Tyler Evje, a Greystar spokesperson, said in an emailed statement that Greystar is “committed to preserving the Millard Sheets art pieces, sensitively removing them from the existing structure prior to demolition,” and that the company is “currently studying both onsite and offsite options for reinstallation of the pieces.”
But it is not only the mural that is special; so is the bank, according to Katz. Its architectural style, with its row of unadorned arches and narrow, light-colored brickwork, connects Mountain View to a celebrated lineage of architects.
Named after the architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the “Richardsonian” arches of the Chase bank were popularized by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City’s Central Park and created Stanford University’s master campus plan.
A similar aesthetic appears in the work of architect Louis Sullivan, who strongly influenced Frank Llyod Wright who, in turn, used the arches and light-colored bricks for San Francisco’s Maiden Lane building and the Marin County Civic Center.
Livable Mountain View has asked Greystar if it would consider incorporating elements of the building’s original architectural style, like the arches and brickwork, into its new design. The developer’s response has been muted on this particular issue. At a meeting last spring, consultants presented different options for preserving the mural, namely by relocating it elsewhere, but did not respond to community concerns about the style of the new bank, Katz said.
City officials have been involved in the issue of preservation, Shrivastava said, and are looking into ways to keep the mural and other artwork associated with the building. But the design of the new bank will be different, she added.
“If you look at the design, it’s not going to look like the old one, but it will have some iconic features. And the design is a little bit more modern,” she said.
When asked about the architectural style of the new bank, Greystar responded that it was working with the city on the design plans. “The project is in the middle of the city of Mountain View’s design review process. Several design elements are being considered as part of discussions with City of Mountain View Planning staff,” the statement said.
The project is still deep in the development process, and still has to go through design review and undergo an environmental impact analysis. Greystar intends to present the project at public hearings next spring, with construction planned for 2025 and ending in 2027, according to the statement.
For Livable Mountain View, this is something to hold onto as it tries to preserve the city’s heritage – if not in its entirety than at least in pieces.
“We’re not saying save it because it’s historical. We’re saying the architecture is historical and use it, reuse it the same way Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Frederick Law Olmsted reused it. And that to me is the best reason in the world for whoever is building this, to put their name in that continuum,” Katz said.
Just wondering where all the bank and retail customers are going to park when they “run in”. Or is the design that only the residents would use them?
I guess people who want to utilize the bank will just have to figure out that one of the parking entrances on the back side or the farthest from the bank leads to some kind of parking that doesn’t require a half a block to roll your wheelchair.
There will be underground parking for bank customers, shoppers, and residents.
I am looking forward to this Greystar development very much as it will replace the austere, monstrous Chase building surrounded by extensive cement walkways and an expansive, largely empty, asphalt parking lot. The bank is set at a severe, inharmonious angle that wastes so much space and is barren of trees.
The Chase Bank building, with arches that come from a long line of architect’s arch designs, is the most special thing about the building and art. Greystar could design around it, build beautiful gardens for a cafe and put Chase, which wants only 5000sf, into 20% of the existing building.
The reason it looks stark now is the large blacktop parking, the uncared for front area toward ECR and Castro corner, etc. Also there are a dozen big olive trees, one of the easiest species to move.
Greystar could design around the existing building, putting in all the housing, underground parking and street level rear parking they plan now, without demolishing the building.
Greystar could move the olive trees and put in a lovely cafe area, and preserve the dozen pieces of art inside and outside of the building, preserving the gorgeous arches and the beautiful gold colored long skinny bricks. Each one of those windows could open to a unique retail experience, cafe and all in a very unique and special setting we rarely are able to get in Mountain View.
We don’t have to remove this building specially commissioned for Mountain View, or toss all the art work. We could have it all.. if Metropolitian Insurance (the land owner), Chase, and Greystar would agree to do it.
It could be gorgeous, special and very very Mountain View, with the 299 units, and the retail, and the trees.
And it would save 22k sf of carbon footprint, they want to rebuild with new carbon footprint. Why not adaptive reuse, and save the trees?
WHY ARE WE NOT DOING THIS?
Looks great! I hope they’ll afford some decent public parking for bikes. More people could bike to here and catch a 522/22 to Palo Alto, walk 10 minutes to Caltrain, or just enjoy Castro.
I really like that building aesthetically, but it’s an egregious waste of space. It would be nice, though, for the retail frontage to have an architectural arcade in homage to the old bank.
I think this bank building design is just a clone of other Home Savings buildings built in the same era.
What is unique is the ‘particular’ artwork chosen for this ‘particular’ site and community. I’m glad the architects/developers are able to figure out how to keep this part of the building in THEIR DESIGN.
Design Different?
“Why are WE not doing this?” … it’s because there is no “WE” in this development. It is not a community funded project (Go Fund Me) or a commercial/residential co-op or a local government project.
Sun/shading impact of this 6 story complex. You might note that there is a “second level cut line” (dotted) in this plan. Hopefully this is part of the mitigation designed so adjacent land is not overly shaded by the tallest part. There is even an ‘advantage’ to the multi-family residential (2 story) units to the direct SouthEast. They will still be open to all direct sun-lines for all the year and all seasons EXCEPT for the max of Summer and Spring late-afternoon (hotter days).
This matches some of the shadow-to-the-North and lower stories-toward-neighbors that you can see in the less-large multi-family building near the train station. [and that was a ‘fight’ to get]
The corner of El Camino Real and Castro is very busy, especially for students going to and leaving Graham Middle school. Safety is a real concern. Parking is important, traffic is all day. It would be better for future apartment dwellers is the homes were further away from this busy corner. For any retail or banking to continue to thrive in this location, dedicated parking for patrons in vital. The current Chase bank building is beautiful. If the art cannot find a new home in the development, perhaps the Mountain View Public Library could find a spot for this iconic and historic collection. Greystar and MV needs to take public comments into account.
If they wanted to save something unique then it should have been the Mancini tower at the dealership that sat on the site before it was torn down and replaced with the brick bank building. That tower was Iconic. I recall seeing it as a child in the mid 1960s.
See it here: https://images.saatchiart.com/saatchi/215814/art/6765627/5835269-HSC00002-32.jpg
Looks like a great new addition to the neighborhood! I hope they can get approval and can build these new homes quickly 🙂
I bank at this location, and have always felt like the walkable neighborhood around downtown Castro St should extend down to El Camino. As it is now, all of this surface parking and unused pavement seems like a waste of space.
Happy to see this kind of change, which helps younger generations and area newcomers!
I’m a little confused as to why people want such large buildings where they currently live. Quit buying the George Soros/Development propaganda! Urban landscapes are terrible for the environment, unhealthy to live in, and UGLY!
Huge improvement over what’s mostly a large oversized parking lot.
re: the building, if it’s historic, the El Camino Precise Plan should have called it out and plan around it.
Precise PLan calls for maximum setbacks from ECR and for the largest density on that lot (a Village Center), with highest density towards El Camino and less density near adjacent residential areas.
It would seem challenging to keep the Chase bank building as is while complying with the fairly recent El Camino Precise Plan.
The schools and students-to-be living here / Graham Middle school is literally Right Down the street (back entrance to GMS) and Bubb Elementary is only a few blocks further. Bubb has capacity available, probably Graham also.