Mayor Nash and all council members,
Please provide a copy of this email to all the developers at tonight’s meeting.
Thank you,
Michael C. DeMoss
To all developers, May 7, 2026
I consider myself to be an UNBIASED observer on the issue of building apartments on the downtown parking lots, because I do not benefit, or lose, no matter what happens to the parking lots.
I suggest you consider the source and motivation when you take advice on the parking lot development.
As a Former Menlo Park Finance and Audit Commission Member, AND as a commercial real estate attorney with 40+ years of hands-on experience as a general partner, owning and managing over 350 apartment units, over 100 thousand sq ft of office space and negotiating and creating over 25 real estate partnership deals . . . I respectfully offer my opinion to the developers.
Please consider the following:
1) You will need to overcome ALL 3 of these obstacles:
a) A contentious ballot measure that opposes your plans in the November election. (50% more signatures were collected than were needed for the ballot)
b) A pending lawsuit that introduces a cloud on the title to the land and will stop your plans. The property owners claim a vested interest in preserving the parking lots “AS IS”, unless they approve a change; AND: Hundreds of business owners and affected property owners have signed a separate petition opposing the change to the parking lots.
c) A follow-up ballot (election) that will further delay and will stop your plans.
You and the city MUST WIN ALL 3 of these issues.
(The probability that the city {and YOU} will prevail in ALL 3 issues is mathematically = 12.5% )
In addition:
2) You must convince the Fire Department that it is safe to build 7 to 9 story residential dwellings in an area surrounded by tightly cramped one story older building that have not been updated with sprinkler systems; AND the city fire equipment must be able to access and adequately service your plans.
3) There appears to be environmental concerns relating to certain businesses that may have previously contaminated the ground; including the fact that for 75 years automobiles have parked on this land and likely leaked petroleum products into the ground.
4) A Five (5) level parking ramp at one end of the development is not sufficient because it is too far from the other end (.3 miles or 1,600 feet or about 650 steps) AND:
a) The voters are unlikely to approve of the city paying for the parking ramp.
b) Your plans do NOT provide enough parking spaces to accommodate the needs of the businesses AND the apartment tenants (there needs to be at least 1,100 parking slots in the final plans).
c) When the lack of parking causes businesses to vacate Downtown Menlo Park, it will affect the “Vitality” of Downtown Menlo Park as a place to “Live, Shop and Work”
5) The city’s suggestion to give away the parking lots valued at nearly $50 million dollars to any developer for ONE ($1) Dollar, will surely be met with strong opposition by the taxpayers, as a breach of their fiduciary duty as council members. This will introduce a new delay, and delays cause construction cost estimates to increase.
As a fellow professional in commercial real estate transactions, I can see why some of the original developers dropped out of the competition.
Finally,
It is my opinion that you and the city should abandon the city parking lot location and work together to find a less contentious and more suitable site for meeting the demands of the state legislators; and thereby avoid becoming embroiled in a protracted and expensive undertaking that has a high probability of failure.
I see other flaws in this deal and if you need my insight, I will share more of my experience with you.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael C. DeMoss, Menlo Park Resident
Commercial Real Estate Attorney
Lawreview@icloud.com
