Palo Alto may jump into the battle over the Russian billionaire’s plans to put a skyscraper in Menlo Park

BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer

Palo Alto City Council is wading into a lawsuit between the city of Menlo Park and a developer representing a Russian billionaire who wants to build towers rising 39 stories.

The development is proposed at the former Sunset Magazine headquarters at Middlefield and Willow roads, next to the San Francisquito Creek, which is the border between Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

Menlo Park City Council voted on Sept. 29 to reject the application from developer Oisin Heneghan of N17 Development. The property is owned by Russian billionaire Vitaly Yusufov, who is the son of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s energy minister.

Heneghan sued the city of Menlo Park on Oct. 2, claiming he has the right to build the development under state law.

Palo Alto City Council will discuss Heneghan’s lawsuit in a closed session on Oct. 19. 

Councilman Pat Burt said that he can’t speak to the closed session discussion, which is allowed to be private because it’s about a pending lawsuit.

“But I can say that Palo Alto has a strong interest in the impacts the project would have on our city,” Burt said.

Palo Alto’s objections

He listed three major concerns about the project: slowing down firefighters and ambulances, harming the environmentally important San Francisquito Creek, and adding traffic on Middlefield Road and University Avenue, which already get backed up during commute times.

Heneghan’s proposal calls for three towers, the tallest at 39 stories. That would be the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The development would contain 665 apartments, a hotel, office space and a preschool.

Congressman Sam Liccardo asked the U.S. Department of Treasury on Sept. 24 to look into the funding sources behind the development.

“Public sources raise serious questions about Vitaly Yusufov’s ties to the Russian government and individuals linked to organized crime, warranting immediate review,” Liccardo said in a letter.

Yusufov is under sanction in Ukraine, while his father, faces sanctions in Ukraine and in Canada.

Liccardo argues in his letter that because the property is in Silicon Valley, with many major tech companies in the vicinity, Yusufov should be looked into due to national security concerns.