Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 14, 2009. View from atop the upper retaining wall on the Menlo Property. Almost all the drainage benches & support built into the slope for stabilization would be removed for construction of 120 condos on Riverside Drive. 
Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 14, 2009. We will, however, get more of this: freeboard of up to 5' is being required by the Grading Dept. on the upper retaining wall. This is what 2' of freeboard looks like on the existing upper retaining wall on the Menlo Property.Convicted slumlord, Sam Menlo and his company, Century Quality Management are seeking a zone variance for the existing 157 units of the River Glen Apts. on Riverside Drive and a tentative tract to build 120 condo units on the vacant Menlo Property next door. It's more than a 50% increase on the existing RD2 zoning.
The Silver Lake Neighborhood Council has is suggesting a variety of mitigations, including a tree-planted median for the length of Riverside Drive, which is a Designated Scenic Highway in the Community Plan.
The Menlo Property goes to a City Planning Advisory Agency public hearing:
Wed. July 22, 2009
9:30 AM
City Hall, Room 1020
ENV-2009-517-MND
VTT-70871-CN
ZA-2009-534-ZV-SPR
2600-2750 Riverside Drive
The Menlo Property is notorious among the Legacy of Failed Development in our neighborhood. History of this site indicates chances are very high we will see another abandoned project on this site once they start digging into the hillside.
See: all Menlo related posts.
