Anton Menlo – St. Anton Partners Inks $96M Construction Loan for Facebook Co-Designed Apt. Project

Commercial Property Executive

September 4, 2014

St. Anton Partners, of Sacramento, has closed on a $96 million construction loan from U.S. Bank for the 394-unit Anton Menlo Apartments development in Menlo Park, Calif., U.S. Bank announced Wednesday.

Sited less than two miles from Facebook’s headquarters campus, the $120 million project reportedly is the first significant multifamily development in Menlo Park in more than 30 years. It’s slated for completion in 2016.

“As Menlo Park has emerged as a tech and entrepreneurial hub, population growth has outpaced residential housing supply,” Lisa Gutierrez, vice president for U.S. Bank Commercial Real Estate, said in a release. “As such, we saw double-digit rent growth in the city last year. Given its size, Anton Menlo will help reduce upward pressure on rent prices while providing a blueprint for the type of housing that professionals in this region are seeking.”

Facebook is a partner with St. Anton in the project, according to a story on SFGate.com last October, though particulars were not released.

Particularly because the project is in an industrial area, St. Anton worked with Facebook to design a suite of on-site amenities to appeal to high-tech workers, such as a convenience store, café, sports pub, bicycle repair shop, pet care, exercise facilities and  indoor/outdoor recreational space.

Anton Menlo will have a mix of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and 15 below-market-rate units will be set aside for low-income tenants, pursuant to an agreement between Facebook and the City of Menlo Park, also according to SFGate.com.

In May 2012, Commercial Property Executive reported on the settlement of a lawsuit brought by three nonprofits over Menlo Park’s alleged failure to follow state guidelines for the development of affordable housing.

The project is being designed by KTGY Group, of Irvine, Calif., which barely 10 days ago was named as a finalist in the 2014 Multi-Housing News Excellence Awards. (Winners will be announced Oct. 16.)

Anton Menlo will occupy a site formerly used for warehouses and light industrial and as outside storage, Linda Heineck, Menlo Park’s community development director, told CPE.

A 146-unit apartment project directly east of Anton Menlo is in the review process, Heineck added.

As of July 2013, according to a Silicon Valley Business Journal report, five sites in Menlo Park had been approved for high-density housing following the lawsuit settlement. If all are indeed developed, they could add up to 900 housing units, and interested developers include Greenheart Land Co., Greystar, the Core Cos. and Mid-Peninsula Housing Corp., also according to the SVBJ.