- David Bohannon 2nd from left.
Developer David Bohannon announced last Thursday that he has found a company to build his long anticipated Menlo Gateway project in Menlo Park's Belle Haven neighborhood. Bohannon Development Co. will be teaming up with Ensemble Hotel Partners to construct a 193,000 square foot hotel and three office buildings totaling 694,000 square feet. The project is expected to begin construction early next year and could be done by 2018.
The hotel will be a part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, which is known for its upscale design that reflects the personality of each hotel's location. It will feature a restaurant, poolside lounge, 40,000-square-foot fitness center, a chef driven restaurant, and a meeting space/outdoor event center. The hotel design includes 250 rooms, which is 20 more than what was initially approved by the city a few years back, but the additional rooms will generate a projected $1.2 million more in yearly occupancy tax revenue. Rooms are expected to go for around $400 per night.
Bohannon's plan for the Menlo Gateway Project initially began over 5 years ago, but until recently had been derailed by the economy. In 2009 the hotel industry took a nose dive and Bohannon was having a hard time finding a company to develop the project. Soon even Marriott became disillusioned with the whole idea and jumped ship. Since that time, Facebook has accumulated about 3.5 million square feet and 200 acres of land in or around the Belle Haven neighborhood, making it much easier for Bohannon to convince prospective developers/Marriott that the hotel will be able to attract enough guests. Facebook's presence in the immediate area coupled with the recent economic boom effectively took Bohannon's project off life support and elevated it from dud to stud in the eyes of developers.
It will be interesting to see what type of impact all of this activity has on the Belle Haven Community, which happens to be among the poorest on the peninsula. So far Facebook has been good about providing public services to the area. They have made significant contributions to the local schools, have been active in talks with the city about getting a full grocery store to the neighborhood, and plan on taking a mixed-use development approach at their most recent 56 acre purchase. The Zuck himself has even taught a class on entrepreneurship at a local middle school.
- Mark Zuckerberg speaking at Belle Haven Middle School's 8th grade graduation
Still, the influx of money into the area is bound to lead to some level of gentrification. Rents are already on the rise, and brand new townhomes have popped up on streets where the occasional gunshot can still be heard. With any luck, the city will be able to find a way to clean up the Belle Haven neighborhood without displacing its current inhabitants.
Stay tuned for updates!
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