By Linda Taaffe

The top official from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation told the Town Crier this week that the foundation is keeping its options open to other locations outside of Los Altos for its permanent headquarters. It continues to explore whether the new headquarters building slated for Second Street in downtown Los Altos is feasible.

“In June, we hired a commerical real estate consultant to look at alternative sites in Silicon Valley for our operations,” said Richard T. Schlosberg III, the family foundation’s president and CEO.

These developments are unrelated to residents’ recent protests about Packard’s downtown building plans.

John Pihl, director of workplace services, said foundation officials were re-evaluating the size and scope of the new office headquarters planned for Los Altos due to a decline in the foundation’s assets.

“The foundation architects are currently studying what size buildings can be constructed on the site. We will compare the potential of the site and our needs for space,” Pihl said.

Schlosberg announced plans at the start of this year to consolidate five of the organization’s Los Altos offices into one location by 2004 in the downtown area between San Antonio Road and Whitney, Lyell and Second streets. The new headquarters was intended to be larger than the five offices combined.

“The whole goal is to consolidate our five offices and assemble our employees into one facility,” Pihl said. The foundation has operated in Los Altos since 1964.

Part of the consolidation would include subleasing its current office space once its new facility is complete. Packard would retain the new facility, as well as its building at 300 Second St., Pihl said. The foundation currently owns nine locations scattered along First and Second streets and San Antonio Road. The foundation uses five of those properties, or 63,300 square feet, for office space.

Foundation property sites include the Altos Center building at 343 Second St.; the former Peninsula West Valley Association of Realtors building at 321 Second St., the building adjacent to PenWest at 309 Second St., the Spa of Los Altos at 371 Second St., Reach Fitness at 377 Second St., the former Forbes building, 300 Second St.; 349 First St., at the corner of First and Whitney, the Diamond Broker building at 388 Second St., and 175 S. San Antonio Road, as well as two parking lots across from the Spa and Reach.

The properties intended for the new headquarters location lie in an area zoned Commercial Downtown, which allows office space on the ground floor without requiring a special use permit. Other downtown areas require retail on the first floor. Most of the building sites that Packard has purchased contain office and service-related businesses.

Pihl said Packard currently owns the property it needs to proceed with the project but could purchase more sites.

“If other adjacent properties become available, we will consider if they are beneficial to our project,” he said.

Packard owns all of the property along the North side of Second Street from Whitney to Lyell, excluding Jerry’s Liquors at the corner of Second and Lyell streets.

Pihl said the foundation is dedicated to preventing urban sprawl, and the new building would reflect this value. The foundation intends to construct an energy-efficient, sustainable building made of recycled materials, Pihl said. Part of the plan could include a series of individual buildings along Second and Whitney connected by similar architectural characteristics, which would minimize the project’s mass and better fit into the downtown “village” atmosphere, officials said.

Pihl would not estimate the possible size of the new headquarters.

A Los Altos planning official said city staff has already held informal meetings with Packard’s planner, architect and designer. He said the city planning staff is scheduled to meet informally with Packard this October. Packard has expressed interest in collecting more public outreach than the city requires for its review process, he added.

Packard had not applied for any master plan permits as of last week, he said.

Packard recently offered lease extensions to the Spa and Reach health clubs, which operate out of two buildings that the foundation bought earlier this year, through March 2002.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is the largest private employer in Los Altos, with approximately 170 employees. It has an active local giving program, including recent support for such capital projects as the renovation of the Los Altos History Museum and the construction of a baseball diamond, as well as other long standing education and cultural programs.

Pihl said the foundation chose to place its headquarters in Los Altos because of the foundation’s history with the city. The Packard family started the foundation here.

“We would prefer to be in a more village-like setting rather, than say, Sand Hill Road where our employees would have to drive to amenities,” Pihl said. Packard encourages its employees to use downtown facilities and participate in the community, Pihl said.