Dear City Council:
In addition to considering other city-owned Menlo Park sites that are better options than the assessment district-purchased public parking lots in downtown, the City Council should consider the USGS site at 345 Middlefield Road as it is a better and viable high-density, low-income affordable housing site.
This is 17-acre site provides ample green space and plenty of options for surface level parking. Last week DOGE announced the cancellation of the USGS lease and the property will be going on the market April 15th with a minimum bid of $85 million dollars. It is feasible that the USGS site could eventually sell for less than that price, but the 627-parking space California Avenue parking garage could cost as much as $70-$80 million in todays dollars.
Feds slash price of USGS campus
https://padailypost.com/2025/03/03/feds-slash-price-of-usgs-campus/
In the RFQ that the City Council issued for downtown Menlo Park, under section 4.1 B of the RFQ it states that the development requirement needs to "Provides replacement public parking spaces for those lost due to redevelopment, integrated within the development or as standalone structure(s)". For a 55-year ground lease where the developer does not even own the dirt, it will be very difficult if not impossible for a deal to make sense when the developer is responsible for a potential $70-$80 million-dollar parking garage. For roughly the same price, an affordable developer could outright own the fee simple land and not have to build a parking garage because there could be ample parking opportunities on the 17-acre site. The housing residents would experience a better quality of life with ample green space as opposed to being wedged into three parking lots in an already crowded and congested downtown.
By intending to seize the three (3) public parking spaces for high-density housing, regardless of construction costs, a replacement parking garage will not be a sufficient solution as the retailers and businesses will not be able to park in adjacent spaces. These parking lots were paid for by the downtown property owners for the express purpose of supporting their business. That completely goes away with a new parking structure blocks away - it is naive to think that customers will park on the third level of a parking garage and walk several blocks to visit their dry cleaner or pick up their take-out dinner. It simply will not happen; customers will go elsewhere - outside of downtown or Menlo Park entirely - and the City will lose millions of dollars in sales tax revenue.
By forcing this current plan on the downtown lots, The City Council risks the economic collapse of downtown Menlo Park, while creating a parking and congestion debacle with the influx of at least 345 new housing units. The City Council needs to focus on better options including Civic Center, the USGS site, and other viable private and city-owned sites.
Regards,
Kevin Cunningham
(650)283-9546
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