Palo Alto breaks ground on housing project at former Fish Market site

When it comes to fulfilling state and regional housing mandates in Palo Alto, no recent changes to state law can compare to the project that will take over the former site of The Fish Market on El Camino Real.

The Acclaim Companies development to come at 3150 El Camino Real boasts 368 apartments, 74 of which are affordable — and this project alone covers a little more than 6% of the amount of housing that Palo Alto is required to plan for between 2023 and 2031. In terms of affordability, the project represents about 9% of all moderate- and low-income housing stock currently in the city’s housing pipeline, Mayor Vicki Veenker said at the Tuesday groundbreaking ceremony.

Armed with shovels and complimentary hard hats, Veenker, the development team and other city leaders officially scooped the first pile of dirt that will eventually give rise to seven stories of apartments.

“This project is setting a path for other developers to work with the city on a set of shared goals to advance housing in our community,” Veenker said. “We truly appreciate Acclaim working with the city and taking that step to be a good neighbor.”

It is largely because of housing proposals like the one from Acclaim and others along El Camino Real that the city developed the El Camino Real Housing Focus Area, a zoning designation along the southern portion of the throughway that allows taller and denser housing projects than other parts of town.

Acclaim had previously submitted the project under builder’s remedy, a provision of state law that allows developers to bypass local zoning entirely if the jurisdiction does not have a compliant housing planning document, called the housing element, with the state. Palo Alto saw 10 such projects between the Jan. 31, 2023 deadline and Aug. 20, 2024, when the state certified the city’s housing element.

Builder’s remedy provides city officials few, if any, options to revise a housing project or offer feedback on design elements, unit distribution or affordability. Palo Alto leaders have historically been critical of developers that use this route to fast-track approvals, and Veenker described it as a “more antagonistic” approach at the groundbreaking.

Instead, the city developed the El Camino Real Focus Area to discourage the use of builder’s remedy for the project. Acclaim was amenable to the zoning flexibility from city leaders and opted to pursue approval through a streamlined local process instead of via state law. The city, in turn, designed the focus area in a way that would make it compatible with Acclaim’s proposal.

According to Councilmember Pat Burt, who was also in attendance at the groundbreaking, the local process allowed the city to provide feedback on the design, such as the stepbacks on the upper floors that give the illusion of a smaller building mass.

Other city officials, including Councilmembers Julie Lythcott-Haims and George Lu, also expressed appreciation for how the project came together. In addition to 368 new homes, the project will feature a two-story underground parking garage with 455 vehicle spaces and 410 bicycle spaces, a rooftop deck, fitness and wellness centers and pickleball courts, according to a news release from Acclaim.

Notably, the project at 3150 El Camino Real contains more homes than all nine projects combined that applied last month via Senate Bill 79, another state law that increased allowable height and density for housing proposals in the vicinity of public transit stops. Those nine projects, most of which are in north Palo Alto, have a total of 341 homes between them.

This fact did not stop speakers and attendees from reminiscing about The Fish Market, an iconic and historic restaurant that shuttered in 2023 and set the stage for the apartment proposal — although Veenker joked that she was not too upset because she doesn’t eat seafood.

Gary Johnson, a partner at Acclaim, recalled times he spent going to The Fish Market as a child and said the Palo Alto community means a lot to him.

He lamented the fact that the city’s jobs have far outpaced the production of housing, meaning that many people who work in Palo Alto must commute from far away.

According to the timeline from Acclaim, the project is expected to be completed and leased to tenants in spring 2029.

“This is a response to the jobs-housing imbalance that we face here in the city,” Johnson said. “This is not just a drop in the bucket in the city — this is going to make a real impact on many, many lives.”