1005 O'Brien Dr. and 1320 Willow Rd.

985-1001-1005-O'Brien-Drive-and-1320-Willow-Road.jpg

Tarlton Properties has submitted an application to construct a new five-story research and development (R&D) building 154,381 square feet in size, a new four-story R&D building 73,617 square feet in size, one 200-square-foot storage building for each new building, and a seven-level, parking structure with 497 parking spaces. The proposal would include community amenities in exchange for bonus level height and floor are ratio (FAR). The applicant has proposed to pay the community amenities in-lieu payment in order to satisfy the community amenity requirement. The project site contains existing, one-story warehouse/R&D buildings that would be demolished as part of the project.

The project would be constructed in two phases, beginning with demolition of the existing buildings at 985 and 1005 O’Brien Dr., partial demolition of the existing building at 1320 Willow Rd., and construction of the five-story R&D building fronting O’Brien Drive and the first five levels of the parking structure in the rear. Phase two would consist of demolition of the remainder of the existing 1320 Willow Rd. building and construction of the new four-story R&D building and two additional levels of the parking structure.

The overall proposal includes:

Total buildings:
- approximately 228,398 square feet
Height:
- 1005 O’Brien Dr.: 101 feet
- 1320 Willow Rd.: 74 feet
Total parking:
- 520 spaces (497 spaces within the parking structure, 23 surface parking spaces)
Open space:
- Total: 59,344 square feet
- Public: 31,535 square feet

City actions required on proposed project

City staff has evaluated the project proposal to refine the review process, tentative project schedule, required land use entitlements, and the appropriate level of environmental review. The following land use entitlements are applicable to the proposed project:

Environmental review
Use permit
Architectural control
Below market rate housing agreement
Vesting tentative parcel map
Heritage tree removal permits

Current status

On April 1, 2026, the City of Menlo Park released the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for public review. The review period will be 47 days and will run from April 1, 2026 to May 18, 2026. A public hearing on the draft EIR and study session for the project will be held on May 4, 2026. Please submit any comments, preferably by email, to Chris Turner (crturner@menlopark.gov) by 5:30pm on May 4, 2026.

Environmental review

The draft environmental impact report and technical appendices were published on April 1, 2026 for a 47-day public review and comment period ending on May 18, 2026. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Draft EIR and study session on the proposed project on May 4, 2026. The Draft EIR and technical appendices are available through the links below.

Notice of preparation

The environmental analysis began on June 2, 2023 with the release of the Notice of Preparation for an environmental impact report. The Planning Commission held an EIR scoping session on June 26, 2023.

Notice of Preparation (NOP)(PDF, 564KB)

Initial Study

An initial study and notice of preparation were prepared for the project and were released for a 30-day review and comment period, which ran from June 2, 2023, to July 5, 2023. The Planning Commission held its scoping meeting on June 26, 2023.

Based on the initial study findings, a focused environmental impact report will be prepared for topics that require further analysis, including air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, cultural and tribal resources, noise, population and housing, and transportation. The 2017 Settlement Agreement between the City of Menlo Park and the City of East Palo Alto requires the analysis of both housing and transportation.