After having entered into an option to a purchase agreement with Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) in September 2021, Stanford University has now submitted an application for a conceptual development plan for the 46-acre campus. The NDNU campus is located on four parcels at 1500 Ralston Avenue in Belmont, CA. The application does not include the adjacent Notre Dame High School or Notre Dame Elementary School.
The development plan is currently under review by the City of Belmont and includes a package of community benefits that was created as a result of extensive discussions with local residents and stakeholders. The proposed project is also subject to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared. The City is currently in the process of selecting a third party environmental consulting firm to prepare the EIR.
The project’s goal is to renovate and revitalize the campus in a phased manner during a 30-year timeframe. The plan includes the following four broad community benefits: restoration of Ralston Hall for community use, formalized community access to Koret Field, Ralston Avenue transportation and infrastructure improvements (financial contributions at time of future construction and bicycle infrastructure improvements), and to establish a Stanford/Belmont Educational Initiative.
At present, the Belmont Campus includes approximately 318,156 square feet of academic, academic support facilities and housing. Stanford’s proposed plan projects campus growth and development for a total of 700,000 square feet of campus building space.
The anticipated population for the Belmont Campus, based on similar campuses of this size and reflecting a ratio of students to faculty and staff representative of Stanford’s main campus, is estimated to be about 2,500. Housing could range from 50-200 units, while parking would be provided based on future requirements and could range from 950-1350 spaces. Stanford’s proposal states that three buildings would be preserved: Ralston Hall, Taube Center and Madison Art Center.
The project includes several sustainability features: a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program would be implemented to minimize trips in single-occupant vehicles in favor of alternative transportation modes, including public transit, walking, biking, teleworking and carpooling; electric vehicle charging stations would be provided at parking stalls, water-efficient interior plumbing fixtures and equipment would be installed in all new buildings, 100 percent of trees, stumps, rocks and associated vegetation and soils resulting primarily from land clearing would be reused or recycled. Finally, Stanford plans to have all electricity used on the Belmont Campus come from renewable sources.
As the proposal states, the development would enable Stanford to create a campus that welcomes the community, both through physical connections and community-accessible programs and activities, and to further its academic mission by creating a new cohesive campus with state-of-the-art buildings tailored to their academic programs.
The Belmont campus is located five miles from an existing Stanford campus in Redwood City and 11 miles from the main Stanford campus along the Caltrain corridor, which would easily and conveniently connect all three Stanford campuses.
