The building on El Camino Real, which currently houses The Fish Market, could be demolished and replaced with a five-story building featuring 129 apartments and ground-floor retail under a proposal submitted by Menlo Park developer Acclaim Companies.

The development proposed for 3150 El Camino Real, in the Barron Park neighborhood, is just blocks from the site of another housing proposal from Acclaim. Last year, the developer pitched consolidating several commercial and residential sites to create a 119-apartment development, with a small office and retail component, at 2951 El Camino Real, in the Ventura neighborhood. While the Palo Alto City Council has yet to formally vote on either project, members gave the Ventura project generally positive feedback in January during a preliminary hearing, with Mayor Tom DuBois calling an "interesting opportunity."

Both of Acclaim's mixed-use projects are relying on a recently created zoning tool to exceed the city's zoning regulations. Under the "planned home" zone, which Acclaim is applying for, projects can exceed height limits, density regulations and other development standards. In the case of 3150 El Camino, the proposed 57-foot-tall building would go beyond Palo Alto's citywide 50-foot height limit.

Acclaim is also requesting permission to significantly exceed the residential density. The proposed building at the 1-acre site would have a floor-area-ratio of 2.95, whereas 1.5 is normally allowed in the site's "service commercial" (CS) zone. And the residential density of 123 dwellings per acre roughly triples the city's typical limit of 40 residences per acre at sites zoned for multifamily housing.

Lastly, Acclaim is proposing that the city modify its open space requirements to allow just some — but not all — of the units to have private decks. The developer is proposing to create a central courtyard that would allow the building to meet the city's open space requirement despite the shortage of private open space.

"These modifications will contribute to a vibrant, mixed-use community by preserving existing ground-floor retail and adding up to 26 affordable residential units," Acclaim wrote in the project plans.

The council is scheduled to offer its initial feedback on 3150 El Camino Real at a prescreening session on Aug. 23, a hearing designed to help the developer decide whether to file a formal application. Once a formal application is filed, the project would still need to go through reviews by the Planning and Transportation Commission and the Architectural Review Board before returning to the council for formal approval.

If it advances, the project would join a procession of developments that are either already in the works or will soon enter into the construction phase in neighborhoods close to the project site, including Mayfield and Ventura. Recently approved and constructed projects include the mixed-use project at 2515 El Camino, at the former site of Olive Garden, and the 59-apartment project at 2755 El Camino Real, which is at the site of a former Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority parking lot and which consists of small units geared toward the local workforce.

Just south of this area, in the Ventura neighborhood, the council is preparing to review a proposal from The Sobrato Organization for 85 townhouses at 200 Portage Ave., next to the former site of Fry's Electronics. The council is also in the middle of reviewing the North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan, a new vision document for a broader 60-acre portion of Ventura, which includes the former Fry's site at 340 Portage Ave. The plan area includes the property at 280 Lambert Ave., where a developer has proposed 49 condominiums in two buildings just south of the Matadero Creek — a proposal that received generally positive reviews from the City Council on Monday.

The council had also approved the expansion of Hotel Parmani, which will be reconstructed as a four-story building just south of The Fish Market site. The city has also recently approved a mixed-use project at 3225 El Camino, which includes eight condominiums.

While the council has been eyeing the Fry's site for residential use for decades, the new proposal for The Fish Market site has not previously been seen as a prime housing site. The city's Housing Element has identified the two El Camino sites on which the development would stand as having a "realistic capacity" of 21 housing units between them. A report from the Department of Planning and Community Environment notes that the development, if approved, would exceed the city's estimate by 109 residences.

If approved, the project would likely spell the end of The Fish Market once the new building replaces the existing one. The application calls for retail and offices replacing the existing restaurant space at 3150 El Camino Real. The restaurant's future had been the subject of speculation since last year, when Acclaim purchased the property. In May, however, the restaurant announced that it has no imminent plans to leave.