Category: Development

New Apartments Proposed at Wellesley and College

7 Comments

An article in Friday’s Palo Alto Weekly describes a new apartment building proposed for the corner of Wellesley and College Avenue in College Terrace. The project by San Francisco-based Cato Investments would house 24 units in a three-story apartment building on two side-by-side lots at 2239 and 2241 Wellesley St. Today, both lots contain single-family homes.

The developer is applying under Palo Alto’s Planned Home Zoning (PHZ) designation, which allows developers providing affordable housing to request exceptions to development standards. Eligible developments must offer at least 20% of the project to below-market-rate units. The project would also require exemptions for parking, height, and setback requirements.

A project website – WellesleyHousing.com – lays out the developer’s vision to provide missing middle housing in a walkable neighborhood close to public transit, in a part of College Terrace that already contains multi-family housing. The developers plan to hold a community meeting before the City’s formal pre-screening of the project, although there is no date set for that community meeting yet. There is also a link on the website for a community survey, but it isn’t active yet either.

We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available. In the meantime, we recommend reading the articles in the Weekly and San Jose Inside, as well as the project website.

Around the Terrace: January 15, 2021

Here are some recent announcements and news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

Country Sun Open Again
After a brief closure last week, Country Sun is now open with shorter than their usual hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 9am-5pm.

California Avenue Tree Trimming
The City Urban Forestry staff will be teaming up with an arborist from West Coast Arborists (WCA) to prune the trees on California Avenue beginning Tuesday, January 19th. They expect that this will be completed in 1 or 2 days and will necessitate a few No Parking signs. Following that, they will be doing some pruning on Cambridge, most likely 4 -5 days of work. Any questions? Ask Derek Sprout, Project Manager in the City’s Urban Forestry Section; his email is Derek.Sproat@CityofPaloAlto.org.

College Terrace Centre Sold to New Investor
The building that houses the new Real Produce International Market, First Republic Bank, and other businesses, was sold in late December to new investors for just over $100 million. The previous owners, investment firms Blox Ventures and Angelo Gordon, purchased the property in June 2018 for $78.5 million.

Seeking CTRA Volunteers for 2021-22
After canceling last year’s annual meeting and board election, the CTRA is hoping to hold both this spring. We have a number of roles to fill on the CTRA board; if you’re interested, email ctra-president@collegeterrace.org for more information.

CTRA Meeting on Teacher Housing Proposal at 231 Grant Ave.

On Wednesday, December 2nd at 7pm, the CTRA is hosting a community information meeting on the proposed development of teacher and school employee housing at 231 Grant Avenue. This is across the street from the county courthouse, just a couple blocks off California Avenue.

Micaela Hellman-Tincher from Supervisor Joe Simitian’s office and Sarah Chaffin from the Mercy Housing and Abode Communities Team are excited to share details about this development and answer any questions. They’re looking for community feedback as the development process begins.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. To RSVP, email ctra-president@collegeterrace.org. You’ll receive a link to join the event before it begins on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7pm.

231 Grant Avenue Proposal: An Overview

Mercy Housing California and Abode Communities are working in conjunction with the County of Santa Clara, represented by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, Facebook, the City of Palo Alto, and participating school districts in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties to develop new housing on a county-owned site. The property, located at 231 Grant Avenue in Palo Alto, offers an exciting opportunity to create new high-quality, and much needed, rental housing affordable for teachers, school employees, and their families. This new community will include approximately 110 units of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, amenity spaces, and landscaped gardens.

Commitment to Community Involvement

231 Grant is in the initial phase of engaging the surrounding community. Mercy Housing California and Abode Communities are committed to incorporating the local community into the development process through meetings with neighbors, neighborhood associations, and local leaders, as well as public meetings and regular written and electronic communications. In addition, they are collaborating with local teachers and school employees from San Mateo and Santa Clara County School Districts, including Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View Whisman, Mountain View Los Altos, and the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. In observance of health guidelines related to COVID-19, Mercy Housing and Abode will solicit community input through virtual meetings, email, regular mail, and the 231 Grant website (in development).

Join the Stanford Community Plan Stakeholder Group

The County of Santa Clara Department of Planning and Development has begun the Stanford University Community Plan Update process and is starting initial community outreach including meetings with stakeholder groups, including neighborhood groups.

The planners would like to set up a stakeholder meeting soon to receive your input on the Community Plan Update. If you would like to be part of this stakeholder group, please email skwon@m-group.us with your contact information.

By way of background, the Stanford lands located within unincorporated Santa Clara County are governed by the goals, policies, and programs in the Stanford Community Plan (“Community Plan”) that is part of the Santa Clara County General Plan. The Community Plan was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in 2000, and most recently amended in 2015. The Community Plan update is the first phase of planned work to update the overall County General Plan.

The Community Plan update will consist of background, data, and policy updates to the seven elements of the Community Plan: Growth and Development, Land Use, Housing, Circulation, Open Space, Resource Conservation, and Health and Safety. The project will also include preparation of a Municipal Services Study, Childcare Study, and a Graduate Student Housing Affordability Study to inform the updates to the Community Plan.

Visit the project website at StanfordCommunityPlanUpdate.org for more information.

New Market Coming to College Terrace Centre

1 Comment

Is the third time the charm? A new grocery store plans to open at College Terrace Centre before the end of the year. Run by Khaled Taffi and his partners, Real Produce Market will fill the space previously occupied by the College Terrace Market and Khoury’s Market. Teffi runs two wholesale produce businesses in the area, as well as another retail grocery store in San Jose.

As the name suggests, Real Produce plans to offer locally sourced produce (with a focus on organic) and as well as groceries and specialty items from near and far. In addition, there will be a deli, butcher, grab and go area, fresh flowers and coffee. For further plans, read the city staff’s report recommending approval of the project. It includes a letter from Teffi as well as an overview of the proposed business.

The City Council will vote to approve plans for the market at their Monday, November 16 meeting. Residents are encouraged to send feedback to the council at city.council@cityofpaloalto.org before the meeting.