4 ms·

I was always struck from the mid-90s till I left the bay area 5 years ago by that one block of awesome downtown Sunnyvale CA , Murphy St, and the dismal shoppin

I was always struck from the mid-90s till I left the bay area 5 years ago by that one block of awesome downtown Sunnyvale CA , Murphy St, and the dismal shopping center next to it that must have destroyed 10 or more similar blocks. The shopping center went through several unsuccessful remodels , not sure how it fares now.

kurthr 8y ago
Apparently, a lot of that had to do with Prop 13 and various packaged "company sales" to hold the appreciating property as an investment and avoid increased taxes while minimizing cash flow. In the end after multiple bankruptcies (driven by the city council) the land owners needed to make money on their "new" investment to pay taxes. It's full of shops now with lots of Apple and other tech employment next to the Caltrain corridor. It's similar to the corner of 85&ElCamino where the dead Emproium mall sat for 20 years because the landowner paid effectively no taxes on the property while borrowing on the appreciated value. I don't know if it's true that they only sold to Sutter Health because of bad investments during the dot-com boom, but that was the rumor in 2003-4 when it traded hands.
- DrScump 8y ago
  "...the corner of 85&ElCamino where the dead Emproium mall sat for 20 years because the landowner paid effectively no taxes on the property while borrowing on the appreciated value." Source? In fact, Home Depot had already leased that site for a new, modern store to go in immediately, but the City Council thought it should be reserved for "upscale" retail -- a ludicrous concept that, of course, never happened. Read about the 2000 Measure N controversy. Home Depot stayed in Sunnyvale and expanded to EPA instead. I lived literally a block away at the time.
  - kurthr 8y ago
    I would note that Home Depot was a proposed lease and not a sale, and people were most worried about awful traffic immediately next to the highway interchange (a Santana Row which went in around the same time wouldn't have been better), but 'that was the rumor in 2003-4 when it traded hands' which I guess you didn't hear. I lived closer to caltrain. Edit: If anyone would like a longer reading of the Home Depot kerfuffle- https://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2002/2002_02_22.hdtimeline.html https://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2002/2002_02_22.hdtimeline.h...
    - DrScump 8y ago
      people were most worried about awful traffic immediately next to the highway Where better to put a big box store than away from residential property and landlocked by a freeway? The Sunnyvale Home Depot has no such traffic issues, and it is only accessible from Kifer... which is not a big road. The whole "traffic!" issue was a crock instituted to chase a dream of a "Santana Row West" which never had a chance. The subsequent new huge Safeway Marketplaces at Hacienda and Bernardo/ECR create far more traffic, both in car trips and truck deliveries, yet they engendered no complaints. The result: the property became a medical center that generates essentially zero sales tax revenue for the city; that lost half-million a year goes to Sunnyvale's Home Depot and Lowe's instead.

kurthr 8y ago

Apparently, a lot of that had to do with Prop 13 and various packaged "company sales" to hold the appreciating property as an investment and avoid increased taxes while minimizing cash flow. In the end after multiple bankruptcies (driven by the city council) the land owners needed to make money on their "new" investment to pay taxes. It's full of shops now with lots of Apple and other tech employment next to the Caltrain corridor. It's similar to the corner of 85&ElCamino where the dead Emproium mall sat for 20 years because the landowner paid effectively no taxes on the property while borrowing on the appreciated value. I don't know if it's true that they only sold to Sutter Health because of bad investments during the dot-com boom, but that was the rumor in 2003-4 when it traded hands.

DrScump 8y ago
"...the corner of 85&ElCamino where the dead Emproium mall sat for 20 years because the landowner paid effectively no taxes on the property while borrowing on the appreciated value." Source? In fact, Home Depot had already leased that site for a new, modern store to go in immediately, but the City Council thought it should be reserved for "upscale" retail -- a ludicrous concept that, of course, never happened. Read about the 2000 Measure N controversy. Home Depot stayed in Sunnyvale and expanded to EPA instead. I lived literally a block away at the time.
- kurthr 8y ago
  I would note that Home Depot was a proposed lease and not a sale, and people were most worried about awful traffic immediately next to the highway interchange (a Santana Row which went in around the same time wouldn't have been better), but 'that was the rumor in 2003-4 when it traded hands' which I guess you didn't hear. I lived closer to caltrain. Edit: If anyone would like a longer reading of the Home Depot kerfuffle- https://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2002/2002_02_22.hdtimeline.html https://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2002/2002_02_22.hdtimeline.h...
  - DrScump 8y ago
    people were most worried about awful traffic immediately next to the highway Where better to put a big box store than away from residential property and landlocked by a freeway? The Sunnyvale Home Depot has no such traffic issues, and it is only accessible from Kifer... which is not a big road. The whole "traffic!" issue was a crock instituted to chase a dream of a "Santana Row West" which never had a chance. The subsequent new huge Safeway Marketplaces at Hacienda and Bernardo/ECR create far more traffic, both in car trips and truck deliveries, yet they engendered no complaints. The result: the property became a medical center that generates essentially zero sales tax revenue for the city; that lost half-million a year goes to Sunnyvale's Home Depot and Lowe's instead.