Palo Alto staff, consultants present three concepts for 35‑acre Cubberley master plan; bond, parking and programming remain key questions

City staff and master‑planning consultants presented three conceptual redesigns for the 35‑acre Cubberley site on Middlefield Road during a July 9 Planning and Transportation Commission study session, urging the commission to weigh in on circulation, building massing, parking and programming as the city prepares for a bond measure and further design work.

The Cubberley site, which the transcript shows the city currently owns 8 acres and leases about 27 acres from the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD), is the subject of a new master planning process led by Concordia. City staff told commissioners a signed MOU between PAUSD and the city includes a potential purchase of 7 additional acres by the city contingent on a successful ballot measure in November 2026.

The study session matters because a master plan will shape whether voters are asked next year to finance acquisition and construction, and because the site serves a wide mix of users — nonprofit tenants, youth sports, performing arts groups and neighborhood residents. Staff emphasized that cost estimates, geotechnical and stormwater work and further community outreach are pending before any construction decisions.

Concordia presented three distinct concept geometries. The “diagonal” concept — which received the strongest cumulative support at a recent community meeting — places a diagonal bike‑and‑pedestrian promenade from Nelson…