Former Trammell Crow exec invokes builder’s remedy in Menlo Park

Plans could bring more than 1,000 housing units to the city

Former Trammell Crow Exec. Oisin Heneghan and 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park
Former Trammell Crow Exec. Oisin Heneghan and 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park (LinkedIn, Google Maps)

A proposal that could bring over a 1,000 new residential units to Menlo Park has triggered the builder’s remedy provision. Along with housing, the developer is planning on building offices, a hotel and retail, according to SF YIMBY. 

The project applicant is Oisin Heneghan, the founder of N17 Development, and the proposal is for 80 Willow Road. The property site is the former home of Sunset Magazine. Embarcadero Capital Partners, the Belmont-based landlord, acquired the seven-acre site for $77 million in 2014 and sold it in 2019 to Vitaly Yusufov for an undisclosed sum.

The project would create four structures, the tallest of which is 300 feet and the second tallest at 270 feet. Preliminary plans envision 800 to 1,150 apartments, a 150 key hotel, between 50,000 to 280,000 square feet of offices, and retail. It is currently unclear how many units will be affordable, however builder’s remedy projects require a minimum of 20 percent. 

Heneghan was senior vice president at San Francisco-based Trammell Crow before starting N17, According to his Linkedin profile. 

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During his time at Trammell Crow, Heneghan was involved with developing offices, life science projects and multi-family housing. Before joining Trammel Crow in 2016, he oversaw Heneghan Engineering for just over a decade. 

While most south bay builder’s remedy projects have been focused in Santa Clara County, N17 isn’t the first to try their hand in San Mateo County. Windy Hill Properties filed plans for 350 homes in the city of San Mateo. 

Developers have been looking towards builder’s remedy as a way to accelerate residential development in local cities that did not have a certified housing element by the January 31 deadline. The provision in California’s law allows projects to receive unanimous approval in these cities as long as they have at least 20 percent of units designated as affordable. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Embarcadero Capital Partners was still a landlord at 80 Willow Road.

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