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There were large, sparse commercial parcels between 101 and the Bay with light rail right there. Heck, the Sunnyvale Lockheed campus along Mathilda and Java use

There were large, sparse commercial parcels between 101 and the Bay with light rail right there. Heck, the Sunnyvale Lockheed campus along Mathilda and Java used to employ 20,000 by itself. That's one example. At the time the spaceship site was chosen, there was a LOT of vacant commercial space along the Central/Caltrain corridor, mostly single-story on large parcels (with huge parking areas). Much is still mostly vacant -- ride Caltrain on a weekday and watch the empty lots roll by. North Santa Clara is even more sparse, with access to two freeways. A new development is being discussed for the former dump site North of Levi's stadium. But it doesn't have a Cupertino address like Jobs apparently wanted.

myrandomcomment 9y ago
So at a previous startup we looked at offices in the area you talked about. They sucked. Also the public transportation was a joke. For me at the time Caltrain to Mt. View then slow VTA to a stop that was 1 mile from the 3 offices location we looked at. 2 hours train time and limited hours on service compared to a real system in a large city. As to access to freeways I can drop off in Cupertino pretty simply from 280/85/101/17 so it is really a central path. De Anza hits both the 85 and 280. If anything it is simpler then the Santa Clara parking lot of the 101 to XYZ expressway or 101 to 237 to get to the far side. Their all parking lots.
- DrScump 9y ago
  Neither 101 nor 17 goes through Cupertino or even near its borders. I can't even parse your second paragraph. As for "easy drop-off" from 280, remember Wolfe is quite busy before the Spaceship even opens at all, let alone staffs up fully. Then, what? Everybody packs Homestead from De Anza Blvd through all residential neighborhoods? Or onto Homestead from the Lawrence Expressway end, which is already busy thanks to the new, huge Kaiser medical center there? (Not to mention that access to Lawrence from 280 is via surface streets, not direct-linkage ramps).

myrandomcomment 9y ago

So at a previous startup we looked at offices in the area you talked about. They sucked. Also the public transportation was a joke. For me at the time Caltrain to Mt. View then slow VTA to a stop that was 1 mile from the 3 offices location we looked at. 2 hours train time and limited hours on service compared to a real system in a large city. As to access to freeways I can drop off in Cupertino pretty simply from 280/85/101/17 so it is really a central path. De Anza hits both the 85 and 280. If anything it is simpler then the Santa Clara parking lot of the 101 to XYZ expressway or 101 to 237 to get to the far side. Their all parking lots.

DrScump 9y ago
Neither 101 nor 17 goes through Cupertino or even near its borders. I can't even parse your second paragraph. As for "easy drop-off" from 280, remember Wolfe is quite busy before the Spaceship even opens at all, let alone staffs up fully. Then, what? Everybody packs Homestead from De Anza Blvd through all residential neighborhoods? Or onto Homestead from the Lawrence Expressway end, which is already busy thanks to the new, huge Kaiser medical center there? (Not to mention that access to Lawrence from 280 is via surface streets, not direct-linkage ramps).