Item 3 - Exhibit 05 - Consulting Architect's ReportJune 17, 2019
M. Sean Mullin
Community Development Department
Town of Los Gatos
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95031
RE: 400 Carlton Avenue
Dear Sean:
I reviewed the drawings, evaluated the site context, and prepared a review letter for a similar project design in 2017.
My comments and recommendations are as follows:
Neighborhood Context
The site is located at the corner of Carlton Avenue and Jo Drive. It currently is occupied by a one-story structure. The
adjacent context is eclectic with larger office structures to the east and one and two-story homes immediately across both
Carlton Avenue and Jo Drive. Photographs of the neighborhood are shown on the following page.
EXHIBIT 5
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 2
The Site and existing buildingOffice structure to immediate left on Carlton Avenue
Home immediately across Jo Drive
Nearby multifamily complex on National Avenue
Homes immediately across Jo Drive
Home immediately across Carlton Drive Home immediately across Carlton Drive
Nearby office complex across Carlton Drive
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 3
Issues and Concerns
The project has been redesigned to eliminate the underground parking and to move it within the framework of the build-
ing’s first floor envelope- see site plan and first floor comparison diagrams below. Notable features of this change include the
following:
• Ground floor medical office space has been substantially reduced in area.
• Additional building mass has been added to the interior side parking lot side of the structure and removed from the rear.
• The pedestrian entry experience has been changed.
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 4
While the length of the structure facing Carlton Avenue has increased, the overall height of the building would remain
the same as the approved design - see streetscape illustration below.
All building elevations have been changed slightly. Elevation and sketch perspective sketch comparisons are shown below.
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 5
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 6
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 7
400 Carlton Avenue
Design Review Comments
February 21, 2017 Page 8
Evaluation and Recommendations
I would in almost all cases discourage office buildings of this size and scale with parking embedded within the first floor
envelope rather than underground as a bad precedent. However, in evaluating the visual appearance of the revised design
to the approved design, I believe that the change could be a beneficial change over the approved design in this case.
Overall, the elevations seem to have a more cohesive design, and while some parking is still provided within the first floor
building footprint, its visual intrusion appears to be less.
The areas which appear to need further refinement include the following:
1. Ground floor plan organization of lobby and parking.
2. Better ground floor visual separation of the under structure parking area from the lobby courtyard and the pedestrian
entries from the street and rear parking lot including more screening at the arched opening into the parking area.
3. Adding additional landscaping, if possible along the rear parking lot facade. Possibilities include trees in the interface
between parking spaces and climbing vine planting against the rear of the structure.
4. Adding additional medical office windows at the building corner facing the Carlton Avenue/Jo Drive intersection.
5. Improved delineation of the building’s sense of entry at the entry arches on the front and rear facades.
Sean, please let me know if you have any questions, or if there are other issues that I did not address.
Sincerely,
CANNON DESIGN GROUP