During a public hearing Tuesday, the Redwood City Planning Commission set April and May deadlines for further study of the Stanford-proposed Redwood City office building development.
The Commission will provide the Redwood City Council with a recommendation on the project’s environmental impact report and a zoning map amendment in April. The council will then hold a public hearing to consider certifying the recommendations in May.
The 35-acre development project is part of Stanford’s 48-acre campus renovation of an area formerly known as Mid-Point Technology Park. In 2005, Stanford Hospital and Clinics purchased four buildings at this location, and the University purchased eight. The University then proposed in 2008 to demolish and redevelop these buildings in response to growth limitations imposed by Santa Clara County on Stanford through the University’s General Use Permit.
The project aims to create a complex of medical clinics, offices and facilities for research and development for employees who don’t need to work near faculty and students. According to Lucy Wicks, assistant director of community relations, in an interview with the Stanford Report, the University would continue leasing space to non-Stanford users while the project undergoes approval.
“We currently have leases with a number of non-Stanford companies, and we plan to continue to offer space to these companies for the foreseeable future,” Wicks said. “This, of course, could change as Stanford determines its need to redevelop or occupy space in the future.”
The long-term redevelopment project would take as many as 30 years for completion. Plans also include structured parking, gyms and eateries.
The project would also seek to improve the site’s surroundings, adding an open space in Spinas Park, providing shuttles and transportation alternatives and would help fund storm water improvements.
The Commission is studying traffic-congestion remedies and ways to mitigate increased density with greener, more attractive architecture.
Stanford’s proposed environmental impact report and precise plan are currently available for the public review until March 12.
–Ileana Najarro