New building in Midtown Palo Alto Issues, posted by Question, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Mar 27, 2012 at 4:54 pm
I want to know why we (whoever "we" may be) insists on more housing and more retail when the new building that replaces the old gas station beside the Winter Lodge is empty?
If no one wants to live in this building, what makes anyone think that people will want to live in Edgewood Plaza or Alma Plaza? If no one wants to rent retail space right beside the vibrant Winter Lodge very close to Midtown, why would anyone think that retail at Edgewood or Alma will be utilized?
In other words, whoever decided to build this building, did they actually do any research to find out if this building was meeting a need in the neighborhood?
Why do we have this empty building and how long is it going to be before it gets vandalized or becomes a den of iniquity for low life to hide behind?
Posted by Crescent Park Dad, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Mar 28, 2012 at 11:45 am
Maybe it is because the developer of the property over estimated the value of an office location on Middlefield in Midtown? And, as a result, is asking for a rental price that is higher than what the location demands/provides? Office space in the middle of a (more or less) residential area may not have been the brightest idea.
BTW - it is not a residence or apartment building. It is only office space.
If a gas station could not make a profit in that location (Winter Lodge), then you do have to wonder why an office building would do any better?
As for Alma or Edgewood, you are comparing 2 apples to a Midtown Orange. Edgewood is on the corner of a well-traveled roadway with easy and direct access to both 101 and the local neighborhood. Alma is also on a busy road and somewhat removed from Midtown and/or other grocery locations.
Winter Lodge/Midtown is already bookended by 2 grocery stores (and a 2 drug stores) that serve the community well. Both Alma & Edgewood would be serving a different local neighborhood than Midtown. And bring back grocery stores that many local neighbors are looking forward to patronize. Further, the housing components at each development will do just fine - just watch.
Posted by Question, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Mar 29, 2012 at 9:55 am
According to this old thread Web Link it is a mixed use building with residential on top and office space below. I thought I had read somewhere that it was office/retail space, but couldn't find any mention of that.
Posted by maybe, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Mar 29, 2012 at 1:16 pm
The gas station was popular with local residents, who now have to drive across town to get gas. My understanding is that the gas station did not satisfy pollution regulations about gasoline leaking into the ground water and the owners decided that selling to a developer would be more profitable than fixing the tanks.
Office space sounds like an odd choice for that location, but maybe they had a hard time converting it to residential because of the gas station pollution.
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