Hyatt Hotel Redevelopment in Palo Alto, Calif., Faces Delay By Chuck Carroll, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Apr. 10--The Palo Alto planning commission dealt the proposed redevelopment of the Hyatt Rickeys hotel a blow Tuesday night by deciding that the city should more thoroughly analyze traffic within a quarter-mile radius of the site.

Several other major projects along the Charleston Road corridor are also in various stages. These include the Campus for Jewish Life, the old Elks Club site and a school expansion. Taken together, the traffic would be too much, residents say.

These projects would all be put on hold until the study is done, under an ordinance the city council is expected to consider Monday.

Tuesday's action doesn't kill the Hyatt project, but it is certain to delay it -- perhaps for a year or so.

"Hyatt's been working on this for some time, and they were hoping this could move forward expeditiously," said Jim Musbach, Hyatt's economic consulting spokesman, referring to the more than five years the hotel chain has invested so far. "I don't think this will affect the viability of the project, but it does delay the improved economics for some time, and the hotel is already under distress."

The chain wants to raze virtually all of the 47 existing '50s-era buildings and erect a 320-room luxury hotel and 302 luxury apartment units on the 16-acre site on El Camino Real.

Musbach also defended his economic analysis of the project against neighborhood critics, who complained that the impact fees to be charged to the developer wouldn't cover the additional cost of providing more city services and a school for new residents. He said the project will be paying the maximum allowed under Palo Alto law.

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