Consider them gone.

hp, Thanks for everything. It's been nice knowing you.

What we have here is just one more indication of the loss of American hegemony in most things commercial.

This is just one more clue toward the future, and how Palo Alto can no longer rest on laurels.

Recently, Steve Jobs addressed Cupertino's City Council, explaining that after a long consideration of its place in Cupertino, it had decided - after much review - to commit to Cupertino by purchasing a considerably large plot of land in Cupertino, and consolidating its central organization there.

Web Link

from the article, above:
"More than twice as many employees work in Cupertino HP facilities as in Palo Alto, and housing is less expensive."

That's right, and so why aren't we working to find ways to diversify our housing supply with infill around transit corridors, and coordinating that effort with local commercial entities?

We can wring our hands all we want about the coming of future constraints, but the fate of the future of our city as a key player in this region will only come if we put those hands to work, in true partnership with the key commercial players in our region, and elsewhere.

Who was it that said that Palo Alto is a "slam dunk" when it comes to commercial draw? IN light of hp's and other recent decisions by commercial agents, perhaps it's time to get busy at the policy level and get serious about business development in a way that looks to sustainable commercial and housing futures - they're interrelated.

So Mike College Terrace is ideally situated for dense housing to accomidate HP and transit access is a short walk to the CalTrain. Will you be advocating that College Terrace lead the way and convert over?

Cupertino Elementary School District is one of the best in the Bay Area, it even surpasses Palo Alto schools in achievement, so why stay here. Or as my son tells me Cupertino has young people, Palo Alto is full of old people!!!

Interesting to learn that I live in Colorado.

"HP also owns property in Germany, Northern California and in Houston, Texas, the former headquarters of Compaq, in addition to such far-flung locations as Fort Collins and Boise, Colo., and Corvallis, Ore."

Mexico here we come

HP is still here but the HP Way is long gone.
Cupertino has better schools because they have more Asian students.

"HP also owns property in Germany, Northern California and in Houston, Texas, the former headquarters of Compaq, in addition to such far-flung locations as Fort Collins and Boise, Colo., and Corvallis, Ore."


By the way, editor, Boise is in Idaho.... not Colorado.

Walter, that's racist (but true ;-)

Are they going to take their Garage with them?

"so" provides an apt rejoiner to "Mike", who wants more housing (presumaably affordable) built in Palo Alto. Maybe Mike can put his money where his mouth is by allowing his house to be torn down and apartments to be built there. Oh, and we need Mike cough up his entire net worth to subsidize the construction so that those apartments can be rented for below-market rates. Jump in, Mike.

Mike and his pals are targeting California Ave. as a hot spot for ABAG housing, including many BMRs. My best guestimate is that eactly zero HP employees will decide live in those high density sardine cans. None of them will qualify for BMRs.

What is Mike talking about, folks?

so Tom, I dont think Mike has to allow the tear down. Its easy. Palo Alto just legaly seizes the property citing eminent domain and has their favorite developer come in and build high rise appartments. It might as well seize JJ&F because the neighbothood will need a huge Safeway there instead. This will allow the occupants to walk to the grocery, walk to HP, walk to Caltrain and since they are HP employees, I bet Fry's would do more business creating more sales tax revenue for the city. It would also have a side effect of saving the college terrace library branch, because now the area would have the population to justify the expense. As I see everyone wins. HP, Mike, the city, even Fry's. Turning over those old poor constructed buildings for modern insulated buildings should help with energy waste too.

Or just take all of the empty office space in Palo Alto (look around) and build housing that an HP employee could afford to buy.

Seriously, I am bummed about this. I work at HP in Palo Alto and am sorry to hear that they won't be moving to a site where I can afford to buy and still have a decent commute.

so Cupertino is more affordable? Where were you thinking you could buy on the penninsula that is affordable?

Yes, other area's on the Penninsula are chaper than Palo Alto. Also, I said "and still have a decent commute". A San Jose/Santa Clara condo is cheaper than a Palo Alto/Menlo Park condo.

So are buildings 4/5/6 at 1501 Page Mill going on the market or are they going to be redeveloped.

Did the Weekly ever say what happened to the Google move into 395 Page Mill? Why is Foothill considering it?

add 7 minutes to your commute and you are in Palo Alto

Sorry, I meant relatively affordable. Easier to swallow than moving to Houston.

well I definately don't think you would like the commute from Houston to Cupertino. ;^)

Well, I heard the other night that GOOGLE may be re-leasing 395 Page Mill Road because they've found some other digs - check this out.

Well, the article points out that this may not be about Palo Alto vs Cupertino, or even Palo Alto vs Houston. Rather we should be thinking Palo Alto vs London, Brussels or Singapore as a site for HP's future corporate functions, given that only 30% of HPs business occurs in the United States.

Anybody remember this--
-----
Web Link
Publication Date: Wednesday Jan 10, 2001

TRANSPORTATION: An 'elegant' people mover?

Proposal calls for monorail system for Stanford Research Park
by Daryl Savage

It's a cross between monorail and gondola technology, it will cost an estimated $50 million, and it's headed for Palo Alto. If someone can find the $50 million.

Palo Alto's chief transportation officer Joe Kott--who takes public transportation to work daily--calls it "a newfangled monorail." He describes the project as an elegant system of an automated people mover. While there is no source of funding identified for the futuristic system, those who support it call it a "very real project
----

The people who opposed the Palo Alto Transportation Official's ideas that always pushed past wackiness into craziness would have had the city pay for this massive white elephant only to see HP fly the coop.

Why does it matter where information workers work? Don't ask what I wear as I ply my profession 20 feet from my bedroom. What are you wearing???

Maybe the HP site can be converted to housing or a big box supermarket/retail/Home Depot/auto dealer or some other tax producing site that will help pay for the 60 million (or is that 150 million)dollar police bldg.

Why not build housing for HP and other Stanford park employers on the site where HP buildings 4/5/6 are now?

That would help reduce the traffic jams on Page Mill.

Didn't Mountain View do some housing in industrial area projects? How did that work?

Where did anyone get the idea that Cupertino was affordable? Did you know that you can get 1400 sq. ft. for the bargain price of 1.2 mil. here? Did you know that our schools may be #1 in the state but that our teachers are in very iffy contract negotiations and between the state budget cuts and the local school district superintendent that little bragging right might get you about as far as $1 worth of gas? Did you know that unless you're Asian or Indian your children will be in a less than 5% minority in their school? And here's a real bonus - unless you can read Chinese - there are businesses you just have to take a guess at because you'll never know what they are. We've lived here our whole lives but the past few years have given us the desire to leave as soon as we retire. We never thought we would.

John, I think HP will be staying here in PA if their other choices are London, Brussels or Singapore. If you think Palo Alto is expensive; try buying or leasing space in one of those cities for less money than you pay here - good luck.

Palo Alto may seem expensive compared to most of the U.S. but compared with London, Brussels or Singapore we are cheap. Europe is hugely expensive today, blame George Bush, the Iraq war, and the falling value of the dollar.

> I think HP will be staying here in PA if their other
> choices are London, Brussels or Singapore.

What about Texas?