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On the contrary... The hand that feeds Palo Alto is a culture of entrepreneurship. Downtown Palo Alto in particular, with its easy access to Stanford University
by redwood 10y ago
On the contrary... The hand that feeds Palo Alto is a culture of entrepreneurship. Downtown Palo Alto in particular, with its easy access to Stanford University, venture capital, and many smaller office spaces, has long been a major incubator.
Companies like Palantir that take over all this previous incubator-like space are in fact a threat to the very hand that feeds Palo Alto. Further, once you're big enough that you provide your own services (caffeteria etc) you threaten the viability of downtown businesses that cater to smaller offices.
Also, once inevitably companies like Palantir do make their move to a proper office park somewhere, that will mean a glut of suddenly open office space in Downtown Palo Alto. This isn't healthy either... it's better to ensure that there is always a fairly stable amount of demand and vacancy...
- julesqs 10y ago> Companies like Palantir that take over all this previous incubator-like space are in fact a threat to the very hand that feeds Palo Alto So build more space.
- karma_vaccum123 10y agoWhere? Downtown Palo Alto is saturated...and building up won't solve saturation on Alma, University, Page Mill etc. Palo Alto has simply maxed out its carrying capacity...businesses like Palantir would be better off looking at areas like the emerging business park near San Jose Airport, where Apple has already committed to building a campus with even more square footage than the Spaceship campus.
- apsec112 10y agoIt would have more carrying capacity if it let people live closer to where they work, reducing commute distance, and if it didn't keep threatening to sue public transit providers: http://paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/01/27/palo-alto-opts-not-to-sue-caltrain http://paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/01/27/palo-alto-opts-not...
- pcwalton 10y agoDowntown Palo Alto and especially California Ave. have nowhere near maximum density. University Ave. is full of low-rise, often single-story, buildings with a few taller ones here and there. The buildings there (and on Lytton and Hamilton) could easily be replaced with four-story mixed office/retail and residential with no impact to the area's look.
- Keyframe 10y agoHow about dem earthquakes?
- unethical_ban 10y agoIt's easy! Just rip out all existing buildings and redesign the roads and walkways!
- pcwalton 10y agoObviously I'm not suggesting that this be done overnight. All I'm saying is that if a developer wants to build a four-story mixed-use building near the train stations, there's little reason to not let them do so.
- mikeryan 10y agoHow do all those new tenants drive to and from the freeway?
- karma_vaccum123 10y agoWrong. There are codes describing density and building height. Palo Alto city council will never change these rules, indeed, they seem intent on making them more stringent. You go ask the billionaires in ProfessorVille how many of them are interested in changing zoning to triple density in downtown without any corresponding improvement in transportation infrastructure (most of which is not under the control of Palo Alto)
- pcwalton 10y ago
- mikeryan 10y agoJust focusing on this issue. Building more space not a viable option in this area of Palo Alto and not actually required. To be clear this is not "Palo Alto" its a very small downtown area of about 8 blocks square. This is an area which is literally surrounded by multi million dollar single family homes. A 3/2 1200 sqft house goes for 2 million dollars [1] and the area is surrounded by larger 5-10 million dollar homes. Heck Tim Cook lives in a condo in this area. There's tons more office space available to companies as they move closer to the 101 and further south and north. In fact most of the burbs up and down the peninsula, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont etc have sleepy downtowns with office parks zoned closer to the freeway. It works and most of the populations in these areas prefer having the office parks separate from the residential areas. [1] https://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/1404-Harker-Ave-94301/home/1210618 https://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/1404-Harker-Ave-94301/ho...
- apsec112 10y agoThis problem is entirely caused by Palo Alto's draconian zoning laws. Many companies like being in a mixed-use area (one that combines housing, office, and retail), but this is illegal in 99% of the city. So everyone fights to the death over the remaining 1%.
- Filligree 10y ago> This is illegal in 99% of the city. Wait, what? What's the logic behind this? Wouldn't this cause massive congestion?
- apsec112 10y agoYes, yes it does: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/08/22/youre-not-dreaming-traffic-is-a-nightmare-in.html http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/08/22/youre-not... Here's an overview of this kind of zoning, and why it's terrible: http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html
- superuser2 10y agoPeople (particularly those with children) do not like to live among the foot traffic, noise, or any kind of traffic/signs of life associated with strangers making their way to and from businesses in a residential neighborhood. Businesses are excluded from residential areas to preserve this trait, which homeowners tend to view as a huge component of their homes' value.
- unethical_ban 10y agoThen let developers buy plots of land and develop it as such.
- hx87 10y agoI wonder how much the prevalence of skinny wood frame walls and sash windows in the US contribute to this issue--if houses were made of 2x6s with continuous insulation, or double 2x4 studs, or masonry, and had casement windows instead, I suspect people wouldn't mind the outside noise as much.