Acclaim seeks to triple the size of apartment project in Palo Alto

Acclaim Companies plans to triple the size of a proposed housing project in Palo Alto to nearly 400 apartments.

The Menlo Park-based developer has upgraded plans from an initial 129 units to 380 apartments at 3128-3160 El Camino Real, SFYimby reported. Two commercial buildings, including one housing The Fish Market restaurant, would be torn down.

Acclaim bought the 1-acre restaurant portion of property near Stanford Research Park in April 2021 for $16 million in an all-cash deal, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Plans now call for an eight-story, 627,900-square-foot building containing 14 studios, 252 one-bedroom, 95 two-bedroom and 19 three-bedroom apartments. Of the 380 homes, 39 would be set aside as affordable apartments for low-income tenants

The now-84-foot-tall project could grow even larger.

The proposed development would have parking for 443 cars, well above the 171 required spaces, according to a letter by the law firm Holland & Knight. It noted: “Although not needed for the project as currently planned, Acclaim reserves the right to apply for density bonus units at a later time.”

The developer applied for protections under SB 330’s so-called builder’s remedy clause, which would prohibit Palo Alto “from disapproving, or conditioning approval” of a project with affordable housing. It also allows waivers for local limits on floor area, site coverage, height, ground-floor retail and upper-floor stepbacks.

The initial project, designed by Sherry Scott Architect of San Francisco, featured a five-story building in brown, gray and light gray, with large windows covered by a row of low-pitch gables.

New renderings for the eight-story upgrade have not been released.

The El Camino Real project is near the California Avenue Caltrain Station, with connections to San Francisco and San Jose.

Developers have proposed two other projects nearby, including an 129-unit affordable apartment complex by Charities Housing at 3001 El Camino Real and a 57-unit apartment complex at 2755 El Camino Real by Windy Hill Property Ventures.

In 2018, Acclaim began construction of a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use office and retail center at 855 Main Street in Downtown Redwood City.

— Dana Bartholomew

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