printable versionPlanned soccer fields, housing one step closer to realization
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
President John Hennessy, above center, joined the mayor of Palo Alto and other community officials at City Hall on Dec. 14 to unveil detailed plans for much-needed playing fields and housing to be built within Stanford Research Park.
An aerial photo, left, shows the existing Mayfield site, and a computer-generated image, right, shows soccer fields that are being planned for development there.
President John Hennessy joined Palo Alto Mayor Bern Beecham and other community officials at City Hall late Tuesday afternoon to unveil detailed plans for much-needed playing fields and housing to be built within Stanford Research Park.
Stanford and the city have been fine-tuning the project on the so-called Mayfield site over the past few years, and speeches during the 45-minute presentation lauded city and university officials for their efforts in making the development an ideal project for the community.
“I would call this a win-win for both Stanford and Palo Alto,” Hennessy told a crowd of about 100 people gathered in the City Council chambers for the presentation. “This is in fact a home run, I think, for our community.”
Final approval of the project could come in March, when the council is expected to consider certifying the development agreement and its environmental impact report. Before that, Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission will hold two public hearings on the project—one next month and another in February—to take public comment.
Under the agreement, Stanford will lease 6 acres at the corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road to the city for $1 per year for 51 years. The university also will build two soccer fields and 250 units of housing in the area.
Existing commercial buildings must be torn down to make way for the housing, so Stanford will receive vested development rights to rebuild 300,000 square feet of business space elsewhere in the park.
Plans for the Mayfield site began four years ago, when Palo Alto approached the university for help in finding a site for the relocation of the Jewish Community Center. Stanford responded by offering to lease the property to the city in exchange for 100,000 square feet of development rights.
When the community center secured a site on its own, the city revised its request, asking Stanford to take into consideration the community’s increasing demand for affordable housing and playing fields. The university proposed another development agreement in June 2003 that served as the basis for the configuration that was announced Tuesday.
Construction of the fields can begin a few months after the council gives final approval, with youth and adult leagues expected to begin playing on them in fall 2005. The university also will build a small warm-up field, 92 parking spaces, 38 bicycle spaces, shielded lighting, restrooms, storage facilities and a “snack shack.”
The housing units will be clustered in two areas—at El Camino Real and California Avenue and on California Avenue near Hanover Street. At least 50 units will be priced at below-market rates for eligible residents and those who work in Palo Alto and at Stanford. The project is expected to reduce traffic in the nearby College Terrace neighborhood as residential space replaces commercial space.
During a question-and-answer period after the presentation, Larry Horton, Stanford’s director of government and community relations, said construction of the 250 housing units depends on the expiration of existing leases. Stanford is required to apply for permits to build at least 185 units by 2013, and the remaining units by 2020.
“We are very pleased to have this as the gateway to the research park,” Horton said of the Stanford-Palo Alto Community Playing Fields. “This is one of the prime vacant pieces of property in Silicon Valley.”