The East Palo Alto (EPA) City Council approved a partnership with the County of San Mateo (SMC) and housing nonprofit East Palo Alto Community Alliance and Neighborhood Development Organization (EPACANDO) in February 2026. The plan, which comes after years of discussion, will add approximately 60 affordable housing units on 2277 University Ave., and approximately 1.6 acres of land to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park.
Under the swap, the county transfers land adjacent to MLK Jr. Park to the city, and the city transfers the University Avenue parcel to the county.
Although the land swap has been discussed for years, there is no exact plan for its implementation. “This is going to take years, not months, so it’s a fairly long-term process, but you need to start somewhere. […] Start by acquiring land, but you don’t really start to plan for what you’re doing until you have the land under control,” EPA City Council member Mark Dinan said.
Plans to expand the park include reconfiguring its general space to accommodate a wider range of sports and activities. This includes new basketball, soccer, football, and rugby spaces, as well as tennis and pickleball courts.
In addition to new sports courts, plans include a new dog park, an amphitheater, expanded parking, and upgrades to existing concession, restroom, play, and barbecue areas.
“They [the city] have been trying to do this for a while, and I guess it’s finally happening,” Dinan said. The draft of what to do with the new space, originally proposed in February 2022, is not finalized, according to the City of EPA’s website. “I don’t think there’s anything final yet. Everything in government takes 10 times as long as you think it would,” Dinan said.
“I was advocating to our city manager that we really need to acquire this land next to the park,” Dinan said. “It’s a vacant lot, it’s blighted, and we can use it for expanding.” The land that will be used to expand the park is currently an empty grass field.
The decision faced little pushback at the Feb. 24 council meeting, where City Manager Melvin Gaines announced the housing plan. “I can’t recall any disagreement. I think the council voted unanimously to approve it,” Gaines said.
“2277 University is underutilized, and the B Street parcel, where we’ll be using that to expand the park, is greatly underutilized. It’s a barren field, Gaines said. “They [community members] likely supported it because it allows us to take some underutilized space and accomplish affordable housing and park goals,” Gaines said.
According to a recent Palo Alto Online Article, residents are conflicted about the affordable housing. Praise Olatunde, a resident in East Palo Alto, described poor living conditions, such as a lack of heat, electricity, and mold. “Why are we building new homes when residents are dealing with habitability issues in their homes now?” Olatunde said.
Both projects will take years. “It could be three years, it could be five years, it could be 10 years before anything happens,” Dinan said. As for now, the three parties are still receiving input from the community and determining who will develop the land.
