Debate Over El Camino Real Project Gets Louder

 MENLO PARK, CA—The  mixed-use development that Stanford University and developer John Arrillaga have planned for an 8.4-acre site along El Camino Real in Menlo Park has spurred controversy and widely opposed opinion.  Contrasting opinions were heard Monday night at a planning commission meeting, were not action was taken, reports the Palo Alto Dairy News.

The project is the first proposal to emerge since the city council approved the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan in May. On a stretch of Stanford-owned land along El Camino Real where old and vacant car dealership buildings now stand, Arrillaga wants to construct a couple of five-story buildings with up to 152 housing units and ground-floor retail space, a couple of four-story office buildings and a three-story office building. About 40 percent of the commercial buildings would be used for medical and dental offices.