Following numerous failed submission attempts, the Willow Park project proposal, a 1.7 million square foot city-like space was marked as complete by the City on Nov. 14, 2024. The highly controversial project has sparked protest amongst local residents, who have created signs claiming to support the addition of affordable housing, but not a “mega-tower.”
California company N17 initially submitted its proposal in May of 2024, but the city deemed the project incomplete due to inconsistencies in “multiple items by planning, housing, building, sustainability, engineering, transportation, and the city arborist.” After multiple resubmissions, the plan is now considered complete but is not guaranteed to be built. The City will now review the plans to make sure they are consistent with the necessary environmental and developmental standards.
The proposal is intended to be constructed on Sunset Magazine’s former headquarters, a nearly seven-acre property nestled in Menlo Park’s Linfield Oaks neighborhood. The site is currently owned by a company of Vitaly Yusufov, the son of Russia’s former energy minister who worked closely with Vladimir Putin. Both Yusufov and his father have been accused of committing multiple crimes in both government and business.
The Willow Park project proposal includes three main towers, the tallest being 37 stories high—almost double the area’s current tallest building, the Palo Alto Office Center—as well as a mixed-use urban hub that the developers claim will include a hotel, offices, restaurants, a Montessori school, and more.
The development would include 665 new homes, with 133 of them being affordable housing for low-income residents. This would bring the city closer to its state-mandated goal of 2,946 new housing units by 2031, including 1,490 units of affordable housing. Much of the remaining development would be reserved for community and commercial use.
Menlo Forward, a local organization strongly opposed to the development has distributed signs for residents to display on their front lawns that read, “Yes to Affordable Housing, No to ‘Mega-Towers.’” “We urge the City of Menlo Park and state and county leaders to fight this outrageous proposal which overrides local regulations—and common sense,” Menlo Forward wrote.
The builder’s remedy law, also known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 or SB 330, allows developers to bypass some local regulations if their projects help to ease the region’s housing crisis. While this project does qualify for builder’s remedy, it still must undergo environmental assessments as mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act.
AB 1893, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newson in September of 2024, adds more restrictions to the previously “free-for-all” builder’s remedy. However, those restrictions only apply to developments proposed after Jan. 1, 2025. Any buildings that met the prior builder’s remedy requirements—20% low-income housing or 100% medium-income housing and submitted while the city was failing to meet state housing requirements—are protected under the past system. The City marked the application of the Willow Park project as complete on Nov. 14, 2024, so it is unaffected by AB 1893.
Find a more specific breakdown of the area in the N17 site plan here.
