Commonwealth Building 3

The Sobrato Organization proposes to construct a new 249,500 square-foot, four-story office building and a new approximately 404,000 square-foot four-story, five-level parking structure with 1,340 parking spaces, located at 162-164 Jefferson Dr. The site contains two existing four-story office buildings, each approximately 129,960 square feet in size, to remain on the project site. The total existing and proposed office development on the parcel would be approximately 509,420 square feet.

The proposed project includes a publicly accessible park along Jefferson Drive. The applicant is requesting modifications to the City’s bird friendly design standards and the use and storage of hazardous materials (diesel fuel) for an emergency backup generator. To comply with the City’s below market rate requirements for commercial projects, the applicant has proposed to pay the below market rate commercial linkage in-lieu fee.

As part of the ConnectMenlo General Plan and Zoning Ordinance update, the site was rezoned to O-B (Office, Bonus). The proposal includes a request for an increase in height and floor area ratio under the bonus level development allowance in exchange for community amenities. Staff has determined the community amenity value for the project and the appraisal is available under “Related Document”.

City actions required on proposed project

City staff is evaluating the revised project proposal. It is anticipated that the following land use entitlements would be applicable to the proposed project:

Environmental review
Conditional development permit amendment
Architectural control
Below market rate housing agreement
Development agreement

Current status

A draft environmental impact report(PDF, 47MB) (Draft EIR) has been released along with a notice of availability for the proposed project and the City accepted comments on the Draft EIR through Monday, August 15, 2022. Staff is currently in the process of preparing a response to comments document otherwise known as the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). Staff is also anticipates receiving an updated project submittal from the applicant in responding to the comments provided during the last project compliance review.

Environmental review

Draft environmental impact report

The focused Draft Environmental Impact Report, technical appendices, and notice of availability were released Friday, July 1, 2022, with a 45-day comment period that closed Aug. 15, 2022.

Notice of preparation

A notice of preparation is an initial step to inform members of the public that an environmental impact report is going to be prepared.

Notice of preparation(PDF, 4MB)

The notice of preparation and the scope of the environmental impact report were the subject of the June 3, 2019, Planning Commission scoping session and study session. The following comment letters were received during the notice of preparation comment period: