September 29, 2026 - City Council

At the September 29, 2026, special Menlo Park City Council meeting, the council received a study-session review of three proposals responding to the city’s September 2025 RFP to develop downtown parking plazas 1–3 with at least 345 affordable homes and replacement public parking. The proposals were from Alliant Communities, Presidio Bay Ventures, and Related Companies/Alta Housing. Strategic Economics estimated funding gaps of about $20 million for Alliant, $45 million for Presidio Bay, and $19 million for Related/Alta; estimated replacement-parking costs ranged from $30–35 million for Alliant to $54 million for Related/Alta. The review also noted uncertainty in state housing-funding sources and possible financing approaches, including fee deferrals or waivers, parking management or charges, city financing, and a local sales-tax measure. No contract award or spending vote was made.

Council direction was to keep all three proposals under consideration, including pursuing an alternative Surplus Land Act exemption path with the state housing department for Presidio Bay while staff evaluates the proposals. Staff will bring back a comparative evaluation, including the teams’ track records, construction phasing, and plans to support downtown businesses, alongside further financing analysis. Council members generally excluded reducing the affordable-housing goals and replacement-parking requirement from further consideration, while asking staff to explore other funding and parking-management options and to request updated funding-gap information from the developers. Separately, the council reported its disagreement with the Attorney General’s position that the 80 Willow Road project must be approved under the Builder’s Remedy, citing potential financial penalties and local infrastructure concerns.