Group Twenty

Closing Letter

A Six Unit Apartment Acquisition In Redwood City’s Premier West Side El  Camino Rental Market Within Walking Distance to Downtown and the New Stanford Campus.

Menlo Gate, LLC is pleased to announce that the Company has closed Menlo Gate Group Twenty Holding, LLC. By the numbers, this is one of the best deals that Menlo Gate, LLC has placed on its subscription list in over 10 years. This offering has a 3.79% Cap Rate, 3.37% Cash Flow, and an Internal Rate of Return of 14.23%. This building is also unique in that it is in exceptional condition and has a external communal living area that was added by the existing owner - a rare find and great for cash flow and tenant retention. This is a great acquisition and a phenomenal set of numbers for a placement in the heart of Silicon Valley that offers the security of one of the Country's top emerging markets.

This offering group consisted of a six unit apartment opportunity in Redwood City, CA located in the heart of numerous new Mid-Peninsula development projects including the Redwood City Downtown, Stanford Campus-Redwood City, Facebook's Willow Campus addition, the Bohannon Park development, and the new Nia Hotel. The Stanford, Bohannon, and Nia Hotel projects are complete and have been brought to market. The new Facebook Willow Campus is expected to be completed by 2021. The new Stanford development occupies the old Technology Park in neighboring Redwood City and consist of over 35 acres of new development. Stanford forecasts that the new campus will bring over 3,000 new jobs to the area. Stanford has also dedicated a “trolley” system from the new campus to the revitalized downtown district of Redwood City. The new Facebook Willow Campus is literally a city unto itself including office, retail, and its own grocery store. The new Bohannan Park development is an eight story office building at the corner of 101 and Marsh Rd. The beautiful Nia Hotel is located next door. A large parking structure and fitness center are also under construction in this area.

Large high end residential developments are also underway or completed in Downtown Redwood City. The revitalized “Downtown” is now the place to be on the mid-peninsula. Additional new commercial developments projects have broken ground and are expected to come to market in 2021 and 2022. Menlo Gate's latest acquisition is literally at the epicenter of all these developments!

This was an off market transaction that was obtained by Menlo Gate, LLC through our contact network. It is beyond argument that Redwood City will continue to be one of the best appreciating rental areas in San Mateo County for the foreseeable future.  As Facebook and other technology companies continue to expand their footprint in this area, the redevelopment  and  continued  improvement  of  this  area  will  positively  impact real estate values.

Redwood City Becomes A New Startup Hub

This offering group consisted of a six unit apartment opportunity in Redwood City, CA located in the heart of Redwood City’s most desirable rental neighborhood, the Mount Carmel District. For those of us intimately familiar with the Redwood City rental market, there is no location better than the Arch, Birch, and Clinton Streets between Hopkins and Whipple, West of El Camino. Any property on these three streets is considered to be a “trophy” asset class by portfolio owners. These streets are pure pride of ownership streets in the region and have to be seen to be understood. Generally, assets in these areas are bought and held for generations due to the rental demand that they generate for their owners. The group is in close proximity to Mid-Peninsula development projects including the Stanford Campus, Facebook’s Willow Campus addition, the Bohanon Park development, and the new Nia Hotel. The Stanford, Bohanon, and Nia Hotel projects have already broken ground and are underway. The new Facebook Willow Campus is expected to be completed by 2021.


The New Stanford Campus

Add to this the addition of the new Stanford University Campus on Bay Street in Redwood City.  Some 2,400 employees will work on the site of the former Mid-Point Technology Park off Highway 101, about 5 miles from the main campus.  The new campus will initially develop 21 of the 35 available acres.  It will feature modern offices, a fitness center and pool, a town square and a park, among other amenities.  Stanford has also agreed to pay for the installation of a new public transport trolley that will service the new campus and the Fair Oaks District where the Menlo Gate Group Twelve property is located.  The new trolley will allow easy access from the Fair Oaks District to the vibrant Redwood City Downtown corridor.  Groundbreaking has commenced, pads have been poured, and construction is underway.

The New Facebook Campus

Facebook is expanding again.  It’s been just over two years since Facebook moved into its 430,000-square-foot, headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Now the company is ready to expand again, and this time it wants to build a lot more than just office space for its workers.   Plans have been approved for Facebook’s construction of what it will call its “Willow Campus,” a “mixed-use village” that sounds like a combination of a strip mall, a condo complex and an office park.  The new campus, which will be right behind Facebook’s existing headquarters in Menlo Park on a site the company acquired in 2015.  It includes office, retail, a grocery store, a pharmacy, and much more.  All of this will be open to the public, according to the company’s blog post. There will be 125,000 square feet of retail space in total, and 1.75 million square feet of office space.  A Facebook spokesperson announced that the new Willow Campus project will be completed by 2021. This campus will be in addition to the company’s existing office space, not a replacement for it.

Bohanon Park Development

The Bohannon Company has nearly completed construction of the new Menlo Gateway, an eight-story, 210,000-square-foot office building in Menlo Park.  The mixed-use project also consists of a 1,040-space parking structure and a 41,000-square-foot fitness center.  This property is located adjacent to the construction of a new hotel along the 101 corridor in Menlo Park.  “The supply-constrained Menlo Park office market, combined with demographic and economic tailwinds, provide exceptional fundamentals for a project of this scale and quality,” Michael Mestel, Square Mile’ principal, said in a press release. The project is part of the first phase of Menlo Gateway, a 16-acre master-planned development comprised of a 250-room Autograph Collection hotel currently under construction and a total of approximately 500,000 square feet of office space to be built in phases.  Located at 100 Independence Drive, the office building capitalizes on the site’s excellent visibility from the highway, and is oriented to maximize southern exposure and natural light.  Menlo Park is known as a hub for high technology and attracts many of the nation’s most prominent technology and venture capital firms, including Intuit, SRI International, TE Corporation, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.  A second phase of the Menlo Gateway project will include two additional office buildings, a café/restaurant, as well as neighborhood retail and community facilities, all totaling roughly 500,000 square feet of space.