Stanford donates a half-million dollars to Belmont upgrade

While such discussions began in 2019, they were sidelined during the pandemic to attend to more urgent issues. But since the end of 2023, numerous community discussions, including open houses, have taken place to understand what residents would like to see from the facility in its new state.

“During the last few years of working in your community and hearing about what your community members were interested in, establishing a new, revitalized point of pride in the physical space came up often and all the time,” Lucy Wicks, assistant vice president of government affairs at Stanford University, said. “We really do hope this contribution can support your efforts for the Barrett Community Center.”

In 2021, Stanford announced its plans to enter into an option-to-purchase agreement with Belmont’s Notre Dame de Namur University, and it had been partnering with the city on developing a special zoning district to allow for a range of uses, such as academic buildings and housing facilities.

As part of a 30-year agreement, Stanford was proposing about 50 to 200 housing units on the 46-acre site — for students as well as university employees — while maintaining the three historic structures on the property, including Ralston Hall Mansion. The site currently has 24 buildings, with more than 320,000 square feet of office and classrooms.

Stanford planned to provide a host of community benefit contributions — largely, but not exclusively, financial — such as the restoration of Ralston Hall Mansion for public use, a million-dollar contribution toward TK-12 education programs, a shared-use agreement for the nearby Koret Field, as well as the commensurate development impact fees for each new facility. In a statement released after their announcement to drop out of the agreement, Stanford said it would remain committed to community contributions.

“While this may not be the outcome that we all worked so hard together for, we are really remaining committed to Belmont and so this is part of that contribution,” Wicks said.

Several months ago, it was announced that the investment arm of University of California intends to purchase the 97-acre property.

“Through the yearslong process we went through together, Stanford was a thoughtful and engaged partner and while the Stanford and Belmont plan did not move forward, what has endured and what I most want to celebrate tonight is the spirit of collaboration and relationship building that came out of those years of planning,” Mayor Julia Mates said.