City Council Members:
First off, thank you for making the New Guild project a top 5 priority for our city this fiscal year. I strongly support your
decision, as I think this project will be a game changer for the vitality of our downtown corridor.
This project has strong support from the Planning Commission and also form a large swath of residents who would like to see a live
entertainment venue downtown. I am sure you will hear concerns about traffic and parking - but these can be addressed with
off-peak usage and creative TDM strategies that I the innovative team behind this project will surely embrace. Bottom line, if you
want something unique and special in your downtown, you need to accept a bit more traffic. If we build it, they will come, and
that is a good thing.
But I share a broader vision for this multi-purpose entertainment venue and what it can do for our city. Personally, I plan to go
to many more events at the New Guild (including movies!) than I ever did at the current Guild theater. I also plan to patronize
the great restaurants and bars downtown before and/or after events at the New Guild. When I do so, I will most likely park near
the restaurant and walk to the New Guild (if I drive at all - how about bike racks and Uber/Lyft drink discounts!) Therefore, I
believe many of the concerns about parking limitations and traffic are overrated. In addition, when the new housing and office
developments at 1300 Station and 500 ECR come online, there will be hundreds more residents and office workers living/working
downtown that can WALK to the new Guild with ZERO impact on traffic and parking. Lets create more things like the New Guild that
will encourage these new residents and visitors to our city to support the local economy rather then support neighboring towns
with their discretionary spend.
I have heard that some adjacent business owners are concerned that their businesses may be harmed during construction of the New
Guild due to noice, disruption, traffic, and lack of parking, among other things. While there will certainly be some disruption in
order to realize the vision of the New Guild -- and the site definitely poses some challenges (I believe the lead architect
described the project as "building a ship in a bottle") -- I am more than confident that adjacent business owners will see a
massive increase to foot traffic and patronage of their businesses once the New Guild is up and running. And their land and
property will be even that much more valuable to future develpments with this unique venue next-door.
The New Guild Theater as proposed will offer entertainment and programming for all ages and tastes, cultural vibrancy, massive tax
revenue boost from restaurants, a home for community group events, all kinds of movies...and most importantly FUN! Lets move
forwards on this project post-haste and make sure that we do everything we can from a city planning and approval perspective to
make this happen in Menlo Park.
Sincerely
Skip Hilton
Menlo Park Resident - 25 yearsskiphilton@gmail.com [skiphilton@gmail.com]
