BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
More developers in Palo Alto are taking advantage of a two-week window when taller and denser buildings are allowed near Caltrain stations.
The city received two more applications on Tuesday from a developer invoking Senate Bill 79, a state law that limits the city’s ability to deny the projects until July 15. That brings the total number of SB79 projects to five.
The most recent applications were from the nonprofit Minority Television Project, which has a small college in downtown Palo Alto.
The nonprofit wants to build a six-story, 70-unit apartment building at 555 College Ave., replacing two-story offices at the edge of the College Terrace neighborhood.
The nonprofit also wants to build a seven-story, 24-unit building at 127 Lytton Ave.
SB79 allows buildings up to 75 feet within a quarter-mile of Caltrain stations and up to 65 feet within a half-mile. Both applications are going as tall as they can.
SB79 gave cities some flexibility to protect historic resources and to limit height and density to half of the law’s standards until January 2032.
Palo Alto took this route, but the limits won’t apply until July 15. That’s because council didn’t vote to limit SB79 until June 15, and the rule takes effect after 30 days.
The Minority Television Project offers a master’s degree in engineering management from the Wade Institute of Technology at 135 University Ave. The college is focused on African-American students, led by CEO Booker Wade.
The nonprofit runs a multilingual TV station on channel 32 and has $110.4 million in assets, according to IRS filings.
The nonprofit’s lawyer is Luca Trumbull of Holland & Knight, and the architect is Susan Chen, according to its SB79 applications.
Yesterday the Post reported on three more SB79 projects.
Erica Stauffer of Altitude Development has proposed a six-story building with 39 apartments at 414 California Ave., reaching 72 feet in height where Bank of the West used to be.
Developer Marton Jojarth wants to replace a two-story, six-unit apartment building with a six-story, 21-unit building at 525 Hamilton Ave.
Kevin Chow of Bayhill Ventures applied on July 1, the day that SB79 took effect, to redevelop the Coronet Motel at 2455 El Camino Real.
Chow wants to build 76 apartments in a six-story building, reaching 65 feet in height.
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