A new Center Café is coming to University Place in East Palo Alto, bringing a long-awaited amenity for residents. While the café will be open to the public, current site access feels limited. Improved pedestrian connectivity could better serve the community.

Last month, I noticed a new signage at University Place in East Palo Alto (1950 University Ave) adverting "Center Café Coming Soon." I figured this would be of interest to the community, especially since I often hear public comments at City Council and commission meetings from residents requesting more restaurants and cafes. In this blog post I wanted to share some photos and context on what's going on, and where I see opportunities for improved connectivity to this cafe for East Palo Alto residents.

Context

University Place is the new name for University Circle assigned by the new ownership team, LBA Realty LLC. The office portion of the site is not performing well; it is at around 70% vacancy (source: East Palo Alto Economic Development Strategic Plan, page 115).

LBA Realty's strategy is to add more amenities that would attract office tenants (project page) which "includes renovation the inner circle including reconfiguration of an existing structure to be reconfigured as a cafe, landscape improvements, and facade changes to buildings 1900, 1950 and 2000 University Avenue." The Planning Commission approved the Design Review Application on March 10, 2025 (agenda packet), and you can find the meeting recording on the City website Agenda and Minutes page.

Renderings

The detailed architectural pages can be found in the agenda packet linked in the section above. I am not an architect so I won't attempt to go through the details in this post. The main thing to note is that there will be a new structure that will serve as a cafe and will be open to the public.

Site Access

One of the big grievances that many East Palo Alto residents have had about the University Place development is that "it feels like a wall." I have heard multiple residents say at public City Council meetings and other community meetings that they felt like they were cut off from the development and not welcomed. Especially when you take into the historical context of how this site replaced Whiskey Gulch -East Palo Alto's downtown before it was razed and redeveloped by the City of East Palo Alto Redevelopment Agency - this development feels intentionally closed off from the community.

I get the same feeling when I visit the site. In case you haven't been to the site before, the only public entrance is along Woodland Ave. There are no entrances on Manhattan that the public can walk into the site from because the entire site is raised one story above a parking garage. Especially with the context of the new University Ave pedestrian overcrossing and the build out of retail on the other side of the highway, this development could feel like a large barrier to get from the west side to the IKEA / Ravenswood 101 shopping area.

In Fig 3, I have annotated the path that residents need to take in the figure below.

I made a public comment about my concerns about connectivity and site access at that March 2025 planning commission meeting, and afterwards the new owners approached me telling me they plan to open the site more with their Phase II. They realize that the design they inherited was walled off, and they want to bring in more connectivity. This is in part why the University Circle Phase II project (approved in April 2022 but not yet built) includes more pedestrian connectivity to University and Woodland.

While Phase II - if it is ever built - would bring some connectivity improvements with University Ave, there are still no plans to connect Manhattan into the project. When the cafe opens, it will still feel farther for East Palo Alto west side residents - particularly west of Manhattan - than it should. The property owners left me their contact and asked me to reach out anytime, as well as offered me a property tour. I followed up on their offer a few times in 2025, and I never got a response.

I think the new owner should improve connectivity from Manhattan into their project. Perhaps some more stair access (which is something I see often in San Francisco, such as at Embarcadero Place), or just simply removing the vehicle gate at the NW property entrance at Manhattan & West Bayshore. University Place is situated in the part of East Palo Alto with highest density, which means the most potential customers, potential employees, and potential tenants. There's also a 605-unit apartment building approved (Woodland Park Euclid Improvements, approved but not built yet) directly adjacent to the project (Fig 3, top left red X). University Place effectively blocks west-side residents from direct access to the University Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing, forcing them onto an inefficient perimeter route. Previously, the grid-like layout of Whiskey Gulch allowed for much easier, more direct walking paths.

Most modern mixed-use developments prioritize connectivity and walkable, grid-like layouts—examples include Village at San Antonio in Mountain View, Cityline in Sunnyvale, Springline in Mountain View, and Mission Rock in San Francisco. These projects are also outperforming University Place, with lower tenant vacancies, showing that tenants vote with their feet—and their wallets—when it comes to accessible, well-connected spaces.

Conclusion

A new café at University Place is a welcome addition for East Palo Alto residents—a clear win. But let’s not stop there. We should continue improving connectivity, both within East Palo Alto and to neighboring areas, so everyone can fully enjoy these spaces.