Big Bay Area property could soon be vacant after 70 years, housing proposed

A 17-acre Bay Area office park will soon be vacant, with possible housing development on the horizon, the Almanac first reported. 

In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey announced it would move from its large Menlo Park campus to Moffett Field in Mountain View to better support its partnership with NASA. The complex was established in 1954 and includes the earthquake science center and the volcano science center, among other facilities.

Now, that relocation is almost complete, with hundreds of employees, large amounts of equipment and even several giant rocks moved to the new space at the NASA Ames Research Park.

Yes, even 9-ton granite boulders were picked up using large cranes and then transported to adorn the new campus. Many of these rocks had been collected by facility scientists over the years and four more boulders are still awaiting relocation, The move should be complete by the end of 2024, USGS spokesperson Paul Laustsen confirmed to SFGATE.

The future of 345 Middlefield Rd in Menlo Park’s Linfield Oaks neighborhood, though, is still unknown. The campus was included in the city’s housing element for 2023-2031, with a goal of at least two acres of affordable housing there. The Menlo Park City School District has also expressed interest in the site.

But neighborhood residents are worried about how a large residential complex would affect the neighborhood’s traffic, especially with another set of vacant office buildings just down the road.

The old Sunset magazine complex is being eyed for a large mixed-use development.

The U.S. General Services Administration, which owns the property, plans to sell the 17-building campus at auction next year, likely well before any project begins. After an unsuccessful sale attempt in 2022, it will attempt another auction next year.