10-08-2013 08:04 PM

Menlo Park apartments near Facebook cleared to build









St. Anton Partners' $120 million apartment community near Facebook's Menlo Park campus is good to go.
A city planning commission study session on Tuesday was the final public hearing on the nearly 400-unit project, set to rise near the intersection of Marsh Road and Highway 101.
The project made worldwide headlines last week with news that Facebook would help pay to create 15 affordable units at the upscale development. Some news outlets suggested Facebook was "building" the project. While the developers took input from Facebook workers on desired amenities, it is St. Anton, the Sacramento-based apartment builder, that is actually doing the project. (We first wrote about the community, dubbed Anton Menlo, with an in-depth story in July.)
Ardie Zahedani, vice president of development for St. Anton, said reaction from the planning commission and staff was positive.
"We are very pleased with the Planning Commission's response to our project," he said. "We're proud to achieve this final milestone after more than 18 months of community collaboration and city engagement."
St. Anton is not just notable for its proximity to the expanding Facebook campus, it is also the first significant multifamily project in the city in years. And it could signal more development to come in what is largely an industrial area.
St. Anton will waste little time getting to work: the company says it will start this month and construction will take 24 months.
Nathan Donato-Weinstein covers commercial real estate and transportation for the Silicon Valley Business Journal.


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