New plans have been filed for 3781 El Camino Real in Palo Alto. The project team will use Senate Bill 330 and the Builder’s Remedy provision to bypass the notoriously anti-housing local government, streamline approval, and construct over a hundred homes. Vittoria Management is the project sponsor.
The 73-foot tall structure will yield 278,040 square feet with 190,130 square feet for housing above a 215-car garage. The structure will have five wood-frame floors of housing above a two-story concrete garage podium. A small shared courtyard will be added above the podium facing Curtner Avenue. Of the 169 units, 34 will be designated as affordable to low-income households. Apartment types will vary, with 17 studios, 68 one-bedrooms, 50 two-bedrooms, and 34 three-bedrooms.
3781 El Camino Real west and east elevations, illustration by Lowney Architecture
3781 El Camino Real site map, illustration by Lowney Architecture
The team has invoked the Builder’s Remedy to bypass local zoning and require the city to approve the project. The city is subject to the Builder’s Remedy because its housing element is non-compliant with state regulations. The SB330 pre-application ensures that the proposal can proceed regardless of whether the city’s housing element is approved later.
Lowney Architecture is responsible for the design. Illustrations show the podium-style complex will be wrapped with white and grey stucco. The simplistic aesthetic will feature just two colors mixing up the sheer walls.
3781 El Camino Real outlined approximately by YIMBY, image by Google Satellite
Demolition will be required for 14 existing units. The 1.44-acre parcel is located along El Camino Real and Curtner Street. The site is just a few blocks from where Oxford Capital Group proposed a new complex with 189 units and 137 hotel rooms using the Builder’s Remedy at 3400 El Camino Real.
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be established.
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It sure is simplistic architecture, if you can call it that. Lowney Architecture should be ashamed of this. I’m all for builder’s remedy but this project is a dog with the terrible parking garage under the apartments.
It’s fine. The side facing El Camino doesn’t look like that. They should put a decorative grate over the garage portions.
‘Luddite’ Kou (the Mayor of Palo Alto) will find a way to block this project, alas. She is the most committed NIMBY on Earth, and Builder’s Remedy is no match for her.