Following the third phase of the presentation of the development for El Camino Real, the Menlo Park’s city council has approved an office development plan to be situated in an area formerly housing the Cadillac dealership.  It is a “110,000-square-foot, 40-foot-high retail and office development on 3.5 acres” at El Camino, according to Almanac news.

 

 The catch is, the council did not approve the inclusion of housing units. However, they “left the door open” for the eventual inclusion of housing units in the revised plan for which is expected to be released soon.

 

 Apparently, reactions have been building up since the downtown planning process commenced. This was recently expressed through websites and during the workshops, but now we have an intriguing challenge at hand – a letter from a group called “Concerned Citizens of Menlo Park” which found its way to the City Hall, as if on cue, before the council meeting started.

 

 The letter detailed concerns such as “ozone damage, greenhouse emissions, traffic concerns, and land use issues,” according to reports. The good thing is that citizens are continuously expressing their take on the matter, but the way this particular attempt at expression was done poses questions and creates an awkward situation. While the community workshops are ongoing, one may ask why a group of people would opt to send an essentially anonymous letter (hundreds of pages long) to air their concerns. This casts a shadow on the workshops which rely on open communication. If face to face communication cannot be successfully carried out through such venues, we could only wonder what this group’s next attempt at communication might be, and through what medium might it be delivered.

 

 The city council is now facing pressure both from the citizens and the developer, who some think will not modify the plan to include housing. An area which could have been dedicated for multi-family housing is now going to be utilized for commercial purposes. Perhaps the council envisions a more vigorous economy pad where the housing project would be launched, but as of now, City Manager Glen Rojas has stated there are no current requirements for housing included in the project.

 

 With any process of change, especially in cases such as these which involves massive transformations, there will always be resistance. The challenge now is maintaining transparency and fostering trust among the participants of change so that all parties may move in one direction. Through transparency, good communication is facilitated which tends to prevent the most recent attempt by a group to communicate via mystery or sensationalism.

 

 The focus now should be only El Camino Real and the development plan being proposed, not special interest groups claiming issues with ozone depletion and greenhouse gasses. We can’t let groups like this steal the spotlight from the project and cloud the issues. Community-based workshops should continue maintaining a healthy exchange of opinion and insights and continue to serve their roll as data gathering venues. There may be lots of doubts and accusations right now about the recent developments, but the benefits of having a good housing project plan underway should be not be forgotten or compromised.

 The recent meetings involving stakeholders of the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan drew mixed reactions and many challenges from residents. In this planning and consultation stage both sides are struggling for balance and credibility. It’s a good thing these intensive consultative meetings are community-based – it serves as a rich source of inputs and factors to consider. These results can help build the foundation of a flourishing plan for the downtown Menlo area. If done correctly, no one will complain of being left out since everyone was involved from the very beginning.

 

 However, we cannot expect universal acceptance of the plan. Take for example the doubts and fears of residents expressed in preserveMPdowntown.org. They are looking at the consequences of high-density development, zeroing in on factors such as the loss of open space parking by the installation of multi-storied parking garages, congestion, and “over-development.” These factors, they say, will replace the “character of the downtown” with a big city feel, not to mention potentially slow down local businesses.

 

 Perhaps this is an assumption, as development does not necessarily mean dampening the ambience or economy of a town. Enhancing the town’s potentials and highlighting its best features may be the best way to preserve its atmosphere while upgrading its facilities. Having community workshops at the heart of planning helps in shaping a customized plan which can accommodate various concerns of those involved. Instead of a careless, profit-centered development plan, El Camino Real and Menlo Park will enjoy a kind of development that would invite profit for the town and ultimately benefit its residents.

 

 The emerging plan also stands up to the community’s worries. Congestion woes may be answered by the expanded public spaces and even wider sidewalks envisioned for the area. The loss of open space may not necessarily be a result of elevated parking lots; this may even facilitate the preservation of open spaces which may now be utilized for other functions instead of mere parking. The concept of “over-development” is hardest to qualify. In a span of 30 years, a town will surely move towards development. Planning for the town’s future development right now actually prevents unwanted or unexpected changes which the community may someday resent. 

 

 While fears of aggressive big businesses defeating small town enterprises have surfaced, we should also consider the fact that more business attracts investments, which would in turn stir the economy. This would create a draft carrying small and medium businesses into a more visible arena. If anything, this may result in a complementary boosting of small and large, local and non-local, and old and new enterprises.

 

 Now that the third community workshop is finished, we must wait for the refining of the plan. It is an exciting thing to wait for its unfolding, and along with it, the future of Menlo Park and El Camino Real. Development goes hand in hand with envisioning the future, and at this stage there is certainly no need for worries as the workshops continue to accept comments and seek alternatives. After all, the challenge is creating a point of agreement between the community and the stakeholders.

Tesla has announced its plans to move its headquarters to Palo Alto. What’s funny is they will still be retaining their showroom and sales operations on El Camino Real in Menlo Park.

So the big question is, why bypass Menlo Park? What does Palo Alto have that Menlo Park doesn’t?

For some critics, the more “politically correct” question would be “what does Menlo Park have that Palo Alto doesn’t?” The answer: the Menlo Park City Council. Many critics blame the city council for impeding progress in the city by focusing more on property developments that do not bring in tax revenues, and giving the cold shoulder to businesses operation which spin out tons of cash to the city coffers. Some blame the city’s Business Development Manager for not doing all they can to woo the right companies in Menlo Park’s direction.

As for Tesla, one of their primary reasons for moving to Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park is: it’s proximity to Stanford University. Of course, Stanford would be a perfect source of fresh engineering talents that could ramp up their 350 employees to possibly 600 (which is the new facility’s maximum capacity)! Another reason, according to Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk:  "Silicon Valley and the Stanford Research Park are synonymous with innovation and entrepreneurship. It's an ideal place for a new car company trying to rethink many aspects of the traditional automotive business." Palo Alto is known as a hub for green technology. Tesla’s future neighbours would be no less than The Electric Power Research Institute -- a leading think-tank specializing in electricity technology -- and Better Place, a company trying to build networks of charging stations and battery-swap stations around the world.

Menlo Park’s Business Development Manager David Johnson noted that at one point, Menlo Park was in the "running" but unfortunately , the city could not meet the space requirement of 350,000 square feet. He further stated “ In addition, they (Tesla) were offered substantial incentives from the City of San Jose and the City of Menlo Park has not made it a practice to compete for relocating businesses by offering incentives.”

So there goes a 600-strong labor force that could have revved up Menlo Park’s tax revenue. That’s 600 lost lunches, 600 possible new tenants/ new homeowners (not yet counting their families)  lost to Palo Alto just because Menlo Park “has not made it a practice to compete for relocating businesses by offering incentives.”

And there goes El Camino Real’s missed opportunity at a face lift. With the recent move-out of a big car dealer, El Camino is going from ugly to empty. It is beginning to feel like a steel town somewhere in the Midwest.

Ian McAvoy, chief development officer for SamTrans says “Very few people are against upgrading El Camino Real." Well, it seems very few people are against it but even fewer are actually doing something about it.

Mark your calendars! Menlo-Atherton High School’s performing arts center is making its debut this October.

 

 

Performing arts enthusiasts and residents of Menlo-Atherton community now have something new to be proud of and look forward to as Menlo-Atherton High School’s performing arts center is a few short months away from its debut.

 

Standing proudly at the corner of Ravenswood Avenue &  Middlefield Road, the 490-seater theater is slated for opening in the second week of October. Landscaping has begun and furniture will be fitted inside soon after. The Center already has three events lined up to celebrate the theater’s debut, including a public concert by the local chamber music ensemble Music@Menlo on October 11.

 

Not only is the school excited for the opening of the $32 million-theater. The Menlo-Atherton community is enthusiastic it as well!  Finally, local artists and performers will have a home to turn to. With the opening of the new arts center, we are expecting an outpour of artistic outputs that will hopefully place Menlo-Atherton in the art map.

 

What makes the unveiling even more exciting is the theater’s top-of-the-line acoustics, whose mastermind is the top acoustical design professional Paul Scarbrough, head designer of Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall, Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall and Broadway’s New Amsterdam and New Victory theatres among many others.

 

Aside from 490-seater space, the new performing arts center has a multi-purpose hall that can sit up to 250 persons, rehearsal rooms and storage area for musical instruments.

 

Experts say that cultural development serves as a catalyst in community development, and Menlo-Atherton is no exception. Equipped with advanced lighting and audio equipment, the new performing arts center can now host the community’s and possibly the state’s biggest events — may it be drama, music and dance performances, meetings, conventions or social affairs — which will later help boost economy in Menlo-Atherton. It won’t be far until Menlo-Atherton experiences a surge in the arts and business as more people pour in to participate in conventions and attend performance, thus making Menlo-Atherton an even more ideal community to live in.

 

So mark your calendars, because this October, Menlo-Atherton High School’s new performing arts center will open and don’t you miss it.

 

Here are some pre-construction renderings as well as an up to date photo of the actually construction status.

 

While the rest of the city council is eager to see Menlo Park’s new gymnasium erected, Councilman Andy Cohen stands firm that the council’s decision overlooked key concerns and chose the gym over library users.

 

 

In Menlo Park, the only person that stands between the new Burgess Park Gymnasium and the residents’ better well-being is Councilman Andy Cohen.

 

During a July 21 meeting, Mr. Cohen abstained to vote for the construction of the 50-foot-tall, 25,700-square-foot new gym. But instead of explaining his stand, he chose to give a closing statement, turned off his microphone and kept mum during the rest of the meeting.

 

The $18-million new gym will have two basketball and volleyball courts, five office areas, a meeting room, lockers and a storage area. Planning and approval of the project alone has taken two years, beginning in March 2007, based on a council report.  In April 2009, billionaire John Arrillaga volunteered to shoulder the rest of the gym’s construction costs beyond the city’s $6 million contribution .And recently, the city council has voted for the project’s approval amidst concerns about the resulting traffic and congestion problems. The gym is proposed to stand on the library’s parking area along Alma Street.

 

Critics also question the gym’s two basketball court-design, when the extra space can be used for parking by library users. Based on the plan six parking lots will be available for gym and library users once the gym opens. The city reports exploring the use of SRI International Inc.’s parking lot to accommodate parking overflow during nights and weekends.

 

Beyond the use of space debate, the new gym must push through because the community has been waiting for years for a decent and well-equipped facility, and there shouldn’t be another reason to make us wait any longer. To see a councilman who cannot overlook traffic problems for the various benefits a new gym offers is disappointing. More so is his lack of ability to rationalize his position.

 

Mr. Cohen’s courage to stand by his belief despite an overwhelming opposition deserves to be applauded, but choosing to keep silent takes away what leaves to be admired in his action. Wouldn’t those whom he represents opted to let their reasons be heard rather than sulk during the meeting? He wasted the opportunity to enlighten the council of his position.

 

But he did try to make up for the lost opportunity by explaining to the media in an interview that though he was grateful for Arrillaga’s donation, he felt the council overlooked the people’s welfare after being “blinded” by the million-dollar donation, thereby ignoring the project’s resulting problems. Mr. Cohen also believed that the council’s stand on the proposed gym chooses athletes over library users, a view that echoes the outcry of library patrons.

 

However, Mr. Cohen also fails to see the multitude of benefits that comes with a new and topnotch gym.  Residents will have better facilities and better options to stay fit and healthy. More kids can engage in sports. Overall, a new gym gives Menlo Park residents a chance to improve their wellbeing, while an open parking space gives us just that — open space for vehicles — when there are other nearby available parking space.

 

Despite Mr. Cohen’s hyped solo opposition, at the end of the day the council approved the proposal to build the new gym. What a relief this is because Menlo Park residents deserve a well-equipped gymnasium and no one man should stand in the way destiny.

 

 

Here are links some links of interest:

Architectural Plans & Renderings

City Council Report

Contrary to popular belief, now is not only the best time to buy and sell homes, but it’s also the best time to do home improvements and repairs. The cost of building and remodelling materials and even contractor’s fees are dropping along with the prices of homes.

Since consumers are more wary of spending, they hold off major home improvements and repairs until they feel more confident about the economy. Home improvement spending has gone down by 12% this year, meaning contractors and suppliers are hungry for business. This works to the advantage of homeowners - they can haggle for lower prices on materials and even services plus they a much wider selection of highly skilled, available contractors to choose from.

Homeowners can expect a minimum savings of 10%  on renovations. Building and materials such as asphalt, lumber, and insulation are expected to continue going down in the coming months, meaning it’s also the best time to do repairs and replacements not just inside the home but outside as well. It would be a great idea to start replacing your roof or make some improvements on the driveway, or even enlarge your deck.

Consumers can choose projects with above average returns which can give them extra profits in the long run. For instance you could have new windows installed for $10,000-$20,000 with a 75%-80% return on investment. On top of that, the new windows could make your home energy-efficient, meaning extra savings on your heating and cooling bill.

Here’s a glimpse of an updated Single Family Home Market in Palo Alto as of July 5, 2009:                

Active Listings: 112 and Pending Sales: 50.

The ratio of Active Listings to Pending Sales hasn’t seen much movement, with the active listings inventory reduced by 6 and pending sales reduced by 7.

On the higher end $2M market, movement is slow with 37 active listings and 14 pending sales. These figures have remained stagnant throughout the entire month of June.

For the below $2M market, the ratio of active listings to pending sales is less than 1-2, with 75 active listings and 36 pending sales.

Generally speaking, things are starting to pick up compared to the situation a few months earlier, with July seeing more sales than June. Let’s hope that this improvement will hold on as the summer months go by.

Last summer, California had seen some movement in the real estate market as some homes in Palo Alto and Los Altos started getting offers, with some converting into actual cash sales. Popular choices for buyers were single-family homes under the $1.5M mark. On the other hand, luxury homes from $3m and up are still moving ever so slowly in the market, as could be seen in the high end Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside markets.

On a national level, buyers are starting to gain confidence due to several factors such as low interest rates, the recently approved $8,000 tax credit, and the rising popularity of REOs, which are steadily gaining their share of buyers in the market.

The national market is starting to pick up the pieces. But according Jerry Nickelsburg of UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, on a local level, California is still behind other states in climbing out of the recession. With spending cuts on the rise and state funds running low, California might see a weak first 2 quarters in 2009 and slow growth in the last half of the year and will most likely start making a rebound in. But even this expected growth in 2011 seems to be bleak, with a projected growth rate of less than 2%.

The government’s new tax credit program allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase jumbo loans mostly in high end markets such as Florida, California, and the Northeast. The provision states that both companies could start buying “super conforming” loans with a maximum limit of $729,750. The real estate market could already feel Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s entry into the high end housing markets, as Jumbo rates drop to approximately half of a percentage point. That means more borrowers can now obtain loans more easily and at lower, more affordable costs.

REOs, or Real Estate Owned by banks, are either seen as a wise investment for most real estate investors or a risky investment for some. These buyers are aware that REOs are good investments since they are getting the lowest deals on foreclosed homes but they are too cautious to get involved with all the legal and financial aspects of these properties owned by banks.

Then there is the misconception that foreclosed properties end up to be more costly even if they have a lower selling price than other homes out in the market since they would have to be repaired, refurnished, repainted, etc. Just because it is an REO, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it is a neglected or badly damaged one. Most foreclosed properties are with the banks because the previous homeowner could not afford the mortgage anymore.

One good thing about REOs is they are sold at 20-30% below the average market value. This is because the aim of banks is to at least recover their money by disposing of these assets as quickly as they can, much like a department store clearance sale.

Just as you would in a typical Real Estate market, an investor should shop around and compare REO values of different banks prior to making a purchase. Include the cost of repairs in your comparisons to see if the property is indeed a bargain or more of an expense.

REOs can be good investments if one knows how to shop around and compare prices of either similar foreclosed homes or similar homes in the market. It is a good way to earn more profits as a real estate investor and many have become rich just selling REOs.