Planning permits have been filed for a six-story public garage at 375 Hamilton Avenue in Downtown Palo Alto, Santa Clara County. The city-led project will replace a surface parking lot with additional spaces and designate a portion of the property for a potential affordable housing development. Hayes Group Architects and Watry Design are jointly responsible for the design.
The project would build a six-story public parking garage and a temporary street-level plaza at the corner of Hamilton and Waverley Street. City staff is expecting to work with a developer eventually to replace the temporary plaza with affordable housing, though no specific project has yet been filed.
375 Hamilton Avenue site plan, illustration by Hayes Group Architects
375 Hamilton Avenue with the future affordable housing project illustrated with the white box, rendering by Hayes Group Architects
Illustrations from Hayes Group show that the overall massing is furnished with a curtain of perforated metal screens revealing an open stairwell and upper-level balconies. The top floor will be shaded with solar panels. The six-story structure is expected to yield approximately 116,450 square feet and accommodate 266 vehicles.
Elsewhere in the city, Palo Alto is working with Alta Housing to replace the Lot T surface parking lot with affordable housing. For that project, Alta Housing expects to add 72 units for households earning at or below 80% of the area’s median income.
The estimated cost and timeline for construction have not yet been established.
375 Hamilton Avenue, image via Google Satellite outlined approximately by YIMBY
Obviously, here at YIMBY, we’d much prefer to see this lot developed with a more urban-focused development. In general, our coverage is not necessarily considered support for any project.
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“Temporary public plaza” and yet the city knows well they’re going to do what the residents in Hayes Valley did with their “temporary public plaza”, lol. What a joke.
If this leads to the consolidation of most of the flat parking lots in Downtown PA, and construction of actual buildings (preferably housing) on the lots, this is still a step in the right direction.