The Linfield Oaks Project That Would Add the Most Houses Is Not the High-Rise

"It has been a bit of a moving target: What exactly are the setbacks?"

Menlo Park Councilmember Drew Combs said that at a September 22 study session. The Almanac reported that he was describing what residents of the Burgess Classics subdivision, across from Burgess Park, had heard about how close the revised Parkline buildings could come to their homes. A buyer looking at a house on the edge of Linfield Oaks this winter is asking the same question, and the plans do not answer it yet.

Linfield Oaks is the area between Middlefield Road, Ravenswood Avenue, the Palo Alto border and the Caltrain tracks. Three former office campuses sit around it. The proposal getting the most press is a set of towers up to 39 stories on the old Sunset Magazine site. The one that would change Menlo Park's for-sale market most is the redevelopment of the SRI International campus, and its approval process is the one most open to delay.

Three Sites, Three Approval Tracks

Each project reached the city under a different legal framework. That framework decides who controls the timing.

The USGS project at 345 Middlefield Road needs legislative approvals from the City Council, including General Plan and zoning amendments, a conditional development permit and a development agreement. It also needs a full environmental impact report. The city found that application incomplete on July 10, 2026. Parkline already has a 2025 approval, which the council granted on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, 2025. The 2026 proposal is a revision the development agreement anticipated. The Sunset site is now in court.

How the Office Market Became Single-Family Lots

The approved Parkline plan from 2025 allowed 800 homes. Only 19 of them were detached single-family houses and 27 were townhomes. SRI then decided to vacate Buildings P, S and T. That let the remaining office and R&D space be combined on a smaller footprint, which freed land for housing and retail. SRI has been headquartered at 333 Ravenswood Ave. since 1947, according to The Almanac. The paper reported that Lane Partners' project lead, Mark Murray, said that keeping those buildings "was actually a pretty big design challenge."

The revised plan puts about 901,493 square feet of office and R&D into four buildings, the tallest at 150 feet. The land that frees up is going to for-sale homes. The plan now includes 108 attached townhomes and 220 single-family homes, 122 on standard lots and 98 on small lots. Each townhome and house gets two parking spaces. The 600 apartments, 90 of them below market rate, and the 154-unit fully affordable building are unchanged. The September staff reports count 294 below-market-rate homes in the revised plan, and all of the for-sale BMR units would be townhomes.

The Almanac's June report quoted Murray describing commercial development as "still very challenging" and said Lane Partners drew up the amended plans with financing in mind. He said the retail village came from hearing that people wanted "true-blue, organic retail amenities." Staff added that the project falls under the Housing Accountability Act and qualifies for state density-bonus concessions and waivers.

What 328 For-Sale Homes Mean in a Market This Small

According to the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, 301 single-family homes closed in Menlo Park in all of 2025, about 25 a month. Condos and townhomes closed 74, about six a month. Through the first three quarters of 2026, single-family closings reached 226 and condo and townhome closings reached 66.

Against those numbers, Parkline's 220 single-family homes equal about 73 percent of a full year of single-family sales in 2025, and its 108 townhomes equal about 146 percent of a year of condo and townhome sales. One campus would supply close to a year of the city's resale volume in new construction.

The two segments do not absorb supply the same way. In September 2026, SAMCAR's monthly figures put the Menlo Park single-family median at $4,169,194. There were 26 sales, 31 homes in inventory and 1.3 months of supply. Homes averaged 18 days on market and sold for 104 percent of list price. Condos and townhomes moved more slowly. Their median was $933,500 on eight sales, with 2.0 months of supply, an average of 76 days on market, and 97 percent of list price received.

The single-family market is tight enough that new houses would meet strong demand. The townhome segment is already slow, and 108 new townhomes would arrive in the part of the market where buyers already wait longer. None of this supply competes with a listing today. In June, Lane Partners told The Almanac it hoped for approval within 12 months and wanted to begin demolition before the end of 2027. Those are the developer's targets. The city has not adopted that schedule.

The Council-Controlled Track Is the Slow One

Parkline's approval process gives the City Council room to slow it down, and one councilmember has said he will. The Almanac quoted Councilmember Jeff Schmidt, who represents Linfield Oaks, at the Sept. 22 study session:

"I'm not inclined to vote to approve any project, including SRI and USGS, until we figure out a comprehensive transportation and circulation plan."

The minutes show the council directed staff to "consider a citywide comprehensive traffic management plan." That is a direction to consider a plan. No study contract or start date has been set. Meanwhile, the revised Parkline application was still under completeness review as of Sept. 22. After that come environmental analysis, Housing Commission review, a Planning Commission recommendation and a final council vote, none of them scheduled. The Almanac also reported that Lane Partners is preparing another revision that responds to resident and council comments.

The September sessions did produce useful information for anyone deciding how close to live to the site. On Sept. 14, planning commissioners generally supported the revision and the new open-space layout. They raised questions about traffic, bike and pedestrian safety, and environmental review. Members of the public asked for a buffer next to Burgess Classics. The plan includes about 26.9 acres of open space, 13.8 of them open to the public, plus a 2.68-acre recreation parcel given to the city. According to The Almanac, that parcel was reshaped so it could hold a regulation-size soccer or lacrosse field. A retail village of more than 40,000 square feet is planned for food, fitness and other services.

The High-Rise Is Moving on a Court Schedule

The 6.7-acre Sunset site at 80 Willow Road is following a different path. N17 Development proposes 665 homes. The city's Oct. 1 response letter puts the affordable count at 100, or 15 percent. The plan also includes 332,000 square feet of office space, a 130-room hotel, 17,000 square feet of retail, a small preschool and three buildings between 301 and 458 feet tall. The existing campus is listed on the California Register of Historical Resources. The preliminary application was filed on Dec. 7, 2023. State regulators certified Menlo Park's housing element on March 20, 2024.

Here is the sequence so far, from the city's project page:

1. July 29, 2026: The state Attorney General's office sends the city a notice under AB 712 saying it violated AB 2011 and the Housing Accountability Act.
2. Sept. 29: The council announces after closed session that it disagrees. On Oct. 1 the city sends a written response.
3. Oct. 2: N17 files a petition for writ of mandate.
4. Nov. 18: N17's opening brief is due.
5. Dec. 1 and Dec. 8: The city's opposition brief and N17's reply are due.
6. Dec. 14: Hearing on the petition.
7. Mid to late January 2027: The court's decision is expected.

The city notes that these dates are subject to change. The environmental review contract with LSA Associates was approved in May 2025, but work has not begun because the applicant has not deposited the funds. The Almanac reported that Mayor Betsy Nash sent Attorney General Rob Bonta a third invitation to visit the site on Oct. 29. It also reported that a ruling for N17 could expose the city to penalties of more than $6.6 million.

The tallest project around Linfield Oaks has a hearing on Dec. 14 and an expected ruling in January. The project with the most for-sale houses has no hearing dates, and a councilmember has tied his vote to a traffic plan that has not been started.

What to Look Up Before Making an Offer Nearby

For a buyer comparing Linfield Oaks with other parts of Menlo Park, these are the public records that matter:

• The Parkline project page lists the June 4 submittal, the July 2 incompleteness finding and the Aug. 13 resubmittal. Watch for the next revision, which should settle setbacks along Burgess Classics.
• The USGS project page describes 670 rental homes, including 118 below market rate, about 713,000 square feet of office space, a 10,000-square-foot childcare center and three acres of public open space.
• The 80 Willow Road court schedule, especially the Dec. 14 hearing and the January ruling.

Nothing in this post is legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm how any of these laws applies to a specific property with a qualified attorney or other professional.

Quick Answers

Would Parkline's single-family homes be for sale or for rent? They would be for sale. The revised plan has 328 for-sale homes, all townhomes and single-family houses, and 754 rental units in the apartment buildings and the affordable building.

Does the USGS project include homes for sale? No. The applicant's June project description presents the residential buildings as rental apartments.

Has the city approved the 39-story towers? No. The city disputes that the project qualifies under AB 2011 or the builder's remedy, and the developer's lawsuit is scheduled for a hearing on Dec. 14.

Buying near a site that may be rebuilt means reading plans, measuring setbacks and understanding how the approval process works. Tim Proschold's background in civil engineering and construction management fits that kind of review. If you are considering a home near Burgess Park or anywhere else around these three campuses, Luxuriant Realty can go through the site plans with you before you make an offer. Request a personalized consultation.