BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
An office project proposed next to a high school on Jefferson Drive in Menlo Park would include playing grounds for the school, the developer said yesterday (June 3).
The Sobrato Organization is planning to build a 249,500-square-foot, four-story office building at 162 Jefferson Drive, which would be next door to TIDE Academy, a high school opening in August at 150 Jefferson Drive.
TIDE — which stands for technology, innovation, design and engineering — is a tech magnet school run by the Sequoia Union High School District.
The school is expected to have a maximum of 400 students. But land for playing fields was not purchased, so Sobrato has been working with the district to make its public park space available for the school’s P.E. classes.
Basketball, running
Landscape Architect Nick Samuelson told the Planning Commission last night that Sobrato plans to include a basketball court, a few half-courts, outdoor seating for classes and a building that can be used for bathrooms and storage. Students will also be able to run through the connected paths on the property during P.E., Samuelson said.
The project would also provide 23 parking spaces for teachers and other employees of the school. The project is expected to have 1,276 parking spaces in a four-level parking structure.
Sobrato Vice President of Real Estate Development Rich Truempler said about 1,996 people will work in the offices. (Here’s a report to the Planning Commission.)
Facebook could move in
Sobrato does not yet have a tenant for the project, but Truempler said they will be trying to get Facebook to lease the space. An environmental impact report is being prepared for the project. It will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and, later, the City Council.
Only a fraction of the local news stories covered by the Daily Post appear on this website. To get all the local news, including many stories you can’t find online, pick up the Post every morning at 1,000 Mid-Peninsula locations.