A vacant two-story Comerica Bank building a block from Santa Cruz Avenue is set to become 15 new condominiums and a renovated office building, after the Menlo Park City Council voted 5-0 on September 22 to approve a subdivision map clearing the way for the project at 800 Oak Grove Avenue. The approval lets developer Oak Grove Owner, LLC sell the units individually once construction wraps, folding a six-story residential building, a remodeled bank, and two-story offices onto a 0.752-acre corner lot at Oak Grove Avenue and Crane Street.
The council action ratified a unanimous recommendation from the Menlo Park Planning Commission, which voted 7-0 on September 14 to approve the project's architectural design and its below-market-rate housing agreement, according to the City of Menlo Park. As San Francisco YIMBY reports, the project is being developed by Menlo Park-based Prince Street Partners.
From Empty Bank to Mixed-Use Block
The site is currently occupied by a vacant, two-story Comerica Bank building totaling 15,770 square feet, per the seed reporting from San Francisco YIMBY. Rather than demolish it, plans call for gutting the interior to create two open-concept floor plans and adding a rooftop deck, converting the structure into non-medical office space. The new six-story apartment building rising alongside it will stand roughly 75 feet tall and is expected to yield approximately 46,420 square feet of residential space, with 12 two-bedroom units, two three-bedroom units, and one four-bedroom penthouse.
Only one of those 15 homes will be reserved as deed-restricted affordable housing. The unit is designated for a very-low-income household.
How the Developer Covers the Rest of Its Affordable Housing Debt
Beyond that single unit, Oak Grove Owner, LLC will satisfy its remaining affordable housing obligation by paying in-lieu fees, along with a separate commercial linkage fee tied to the project's office space expansion, as required under the city's BMR housing program. The fractional BMR requirement is addressed through an in-lieu fee rather than an additional on-site unit.
The applicant sought a concession and waivers related to floor area, setbacks, and building and architectural projections. Project plans include residential and office space, as well as open space. The project also requires heritage tree removal permits.
A Nine-Month Path Cleared by State Law
The city also filed a Notice of Exemption on September 18 certifying the development under Assembly Bill 130, an infill CEQA exemption that let the project move through full municipal approval in 267 days without a traditional Environmental Impact Report, according to filings logged with CEQAnet. The law applies to urban mixed-use housing developments that meet specific density and location criteria, and its use here is part of a broader pattern of state streamlining legislation reshaping how Midpeninsula cities approve infill housing.
Parking at the site will shrink modestly under the new design, with 41 spaces built into a ground-floor garage — 11 fewer spaces than exist under current conditions, per San Francisco YIMBY's reporting. Prince Street Partners and Pacific Peninsula Group jointly oversaw the project's architecture, giving both buildings a matching exterior of limestone tiles, stucco, and plaster. Future residents will live a block from Santa Cruz Avenue and less than ten minutes on foot from the Menlo Park Caltrain station. Construction costs and a timeline for breaking ground have not been shared.
A Single On-Site Affordable Unit
Under the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle, which runs from 2023 through 2031, Menlo Park must plan for new housing.
At 800 Oak Grove Avenue, the developer will meet local affordable-housing requirements with a single on-site unit plus cash payments. Menlo Park is also pursuing lower-income housing through separate public efforts, including its push to build housing on downtown parking lots near Caltrain, as reported by MonitorMenlo.news.
Prince Street Partners has a 197,500-square-foot life sciences project approved in Redwood City, according to The Real Deal. The subdivision map is now approved for the Oak Grove Avenue corner project.
