Redeveloped Menlo Park estate sold for near-record price of $15.6M

A half-acre estate in Menlo Park with a new main home and detached accessory dwelling unit has sold for about $15.6 million, the second-most-expensive single-family residential sale in the city’s history.

Hoop House LLC acquired the redeveloped site at 1290 Bay Laurel Drive for about $2,413 a square foot of living space, according to a deed filed with the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office on July 1. The buyer was incorporated in California to manage real estate but doesn’t list the names of any of its members on its registration forms. Its organizer, Rimon Law’s Scott Ross, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The seller was an LLC acting on behalf of Venus Homes, a Menlo Park-based residential developer that purchased 1290 Bay Laurel Drive in March 2020 for about $4.6 million. The property had already been developed with a four-bed, two-bath main home built in 1948 and a one-bed, one-bath pool house when Venus acquired it. The company filed demolition and building permit applications in September 2020 to redevelop the entire property — including razing the homes, pool, driveway, and carport — and construct a two-story, 5,775-square-foot main home with an attached garage. It submitted plans in June 2021 to build a separate, 675-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, also known as a backyard home, on the property.

The main and backyard homes received final inspections from the city last month, according to Menlo Park’s online permit portal. Construction is ongoing on a new swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and pergola, an outdoor structure that forms a shaded walkway or lounge area, the permit portal shows.

The sale of 1290 Bay Laurel Drive validated Venus’ decision to redevelop the property, seeing that it sold for more than triple the company’s purchase price. The developer recently struck gold on another Menlo Park project, a seven-bed, 6.5-bath house at 1394 San Mateo Drive that it completed in 2020. Square Seven Management LLC paid $16.8 million to acquire the 7,459-square-foot home from an entity tied to Vital Proteins founder Kurt Seidensticker, a new record for a Menlo Park residential sale. That deal was recorded with the Clerk-Recorder’s Office on July 1, meaning that the city’s most- and second-most-expensive single-family home sales closed on the same day.

A common link between the two deals: Compass’ Judy Citron, who brokered both sales and represented Venus in its acquisition of 1290 Bay Laurel Drive two years ago. Citron didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment. It’s unclear if a broker or brokers represented Hoop House in its purchase of the Bay Laurel Drive estate. The deal isn’t on the list of Citron’s past sales on Compass’ website, indicating that it may have been an off-market transaction.

Public records offer an idea of how much it cost to redevelop the estate. The combined value of the building and demolition permit applications filed by Jon Jang Architect’s Feyza Ostroff is almost $3 million, according to the permit portal. Ostroff, whose firm designed the project, declined to comment.

The LLC that Venus used to acquire the property took out a $7.2 million construction loan from Western Alliance Bank in April 2021, according to records filed with the Clerk-Recorder’s Office. The document doesn’t disclose the loan’s term. Jon Venverloh, Venus’ president, didn’t respond to requests for comment made through his family foundation and personal website.

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