Return Buyers Making Waves in California Housing Market

The damage done to the housing market during the economic downturn is showing significant signs of repair.  Between 2006 and 2014, nearly 9.3 million borrowers were either foreclosed upon, received a deed in lieu of foreclosure, or short-sold their home.  According to a report issued by the National Association of Realtors, roughly a million of those former homeowners have already purchased a new home.  Additionally, the report estimates that roughly 1.5 million buyers will return to the market within the next 5 years

California has seen the largest number of return buyers, with around 260,000 since 2006. These buyers are expected to have an even greater presence in the next 8 years, as credit scores continue to recover and lender overlays begin to normalize.  Further, new credit scoring methods which take into account rent and utility payment history could help boost scores faster for some hopeful return buyers.

While there's still a long road ahead for many formerly distressed owners, it is a good sign to see so many of these people successfully re-realizing their dream of homeownsership, especially in the face of much more stringent lending requirements.

Follow this link for a detailed analysis of the NAR report and its implications

Powerhouse Gym Commercial Development Stalled

A proposal to construct a 6-story office complex at 2075 Broadway - the current site of Powerhouse Gym - has been stalled due to lack of parking.  The proposal, which was submitted last August, called for 175,000 square feet of office space and 147 underground parking stalls.  Developer Lane Partners had been working on a deal to secure off-site parking for the project, but the deal evidently fell through.

This buys the Powerhouse Gym and it's patrons some time, as Lane Partners will now have to rework their plan in order to move forward with the project.

If Lane Partners submits a revised proposal, it will have to be reviewed by city managers to verify it's compliance with the Downtown Precise Plan before it can be sent to the Planning Commission for approval.  The Precise Plan allows for 500,000 square feet of office space to be added to the downtown area, and well over that has already been proposed to the Planning Commission.  This latest setback for Lane Partners could prove to be disastrous, as it gives projects that were behind them in the planning pipeline an opportunity to claim the remaining commercial square footage.

At the end of last year, City Council had voted to tweak the existing Precise Plan to allow for more commercial space.  The reason for this was that while proposals for commercial developments were well exceeding the allowed square footage, the proposals for retail and residential development weren't coming close to the amount allotted to them in the Plan.  The revised plan would add an extra 168,930 square feet to the office space amount, maintain the hotel units, drop residential units by 740 and take off 85,000 square feet from the retail space.  This revised plan was ultimately scrapped by city planners.

Combat the Drought With Synthetic Lawns

The California drought is the real deal folks, and it's well past time we start thinking about the sacrifices we can make to lessen our footprint on the crisis.  A while back I wrote a blog that discussed a few simple ways to make your home more water efficient.  And while the suggestions made in that blog are still great ways to conserve water, this time around I'm going to recommend doing something that will require you to step a little farther out of your comfort zone.  I'm talking, of course,  about replacing your beautiful natural lawn, with artificial turf!  I know that's a tough pill to swallow, but keeping your lawn healthy and green in dry weather uses an exorbitant amount of water, and now is the time to start exploring alternatives.

Please Note: For copyright reasons, I was unable to find any good pictures for this blog.  To see some beautiful synthetic lawn landscaping, head to the SynLawn Website.

   by  perfectgrassltd 

FACT: Not all artificial turf looks like the elementary school field that you take your kid to play soccer on every Saturday.  Those fields, distinguished by their short strands and the mounds of black rubber crumbs that pile up in your shoes as you walk across them, were not designed with landscaping in mind.  When synthetic turf first became popular, it was almost exclusively used for sports fields (football, baseball, soccer).  The black rubber infill that you commonly see in those fields was designed to ballast the blades so they could withstand heavy traffic, while also providing extra fall support for athletes.  It was NOT designed to look aesthetically pleasing.

Within the last decade or so, artificial grass manufacturers realized that drought and high water costs were creating a growing demand for their products in landscaping.  They also realized that there was really no place for their rubber-crumb infill in these applications.   So they started developing infill that was more aesthetically pleasing, and of a finer consistency (to keep it from coming to the surface and making a mess).  Further, to make it look less like a big green carpet, the synthetic turf that's used for landscaping typically comes with varying strand length and color.  (Click here to see the various styles of turf offered by SynLawn, a leader in the industry)

Sunset Magazine Blogger Raves About Her Artificial Lawn!

The bad news about synthetic lawns is they are not cheap up front.  They can end up costing you as much as $20 per square foot to have professionally installed.  You can get them a bit cheaper, but to get your lawn looking as natural as possible, you're going to want to pay for the good stuff.

The good news is that in the long run, synthetic lawns save you a ton on your water bill and constant maintenance.  Also, some of the installation costs of synthetic lawns can be offset through rebate programs offered by local governments.  The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency for example, offers $1-$4 for a every square foot of water thirsty landscaping that is replaced with drought friendly landscaping.  Follow this link to learn more about this program, and whether or not your local government participates in it.

Of course, the biggest benefit of replacing your natural lawn with an artificial one is the peace of mind you get from knowing that you are doing your part to combat the drought.

DISCLAIMER:  Installing synthetic turf isn't the only, or even necessarily the best way to make your landscaping drought friendly.  The point of this blog is simply to shine some light on the fact that the "Astro Turf" most people are used to seeing isn't anything like the turf that is available today for landscaping, and so synthetic turf shouldn't be overlooked when exploring drought friendly landscaping.

REDWOOD CITY RESIDENTS!: Check out these rebate and giveaway programs that your local government has started to encourage water conservation

Days After Completion of New Campus, Facebook Proposes an Additional Million S/F in Office Space

Facebook is back at it.  Just days after the social media giant celebrated the grand opening of their new Frank Gehry designed campus, they submitted a request to the city for approval of two additional office buildings at the 58 acre site they purchased from TE Connectivity last year.

In a letter written to the city last week, Facebook's Director of Campus Facilities, Fergus O'Shea, stated, "We believe our project will positively transform this part of Menlo Park by converting a heavy-industrial site into a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation". These two new office buildings - also designed by Frank Gehry - would total 985,719 square feet. and according to Facebook officials would have a similar look, feel, and height to their new campus.  

Facebook's new campus with rooftop park. The main headquarters can be seen across the street.

The new campus has a nine-acre rooftop park, complete with 400 trees that can be seen in the skyline as you drive by the facility.  Another building like that would certainly be an aesthetic improvement from the industrial facade of the TE Connectivity building.  Should the new buildings be approved, Facebook will demolish 9 of the existing buildings at the site.

Although this proposal is still awaiting approval, Facebook is already at work transforming the site.  In December of last year, they received approval from the city to convert an existing 184,460 square foot warehouse into office space.  This building is projected to be completed sometime in 2016.

But wait, there's more!  In addition to the two office buildings, Facebook is also proposing to build a new bridge over Bayfront Expressway for pedestrians and bicyclists, green space, and a 200-room "limited service" hotel that covers 120,000 square feet at the corner of Chilco Street and Bayfront Expressway.

These proposals come shortly after Facebook reached out to Menlo Park officials expressing interest in bringing more housing and retail to the neighboring Belle Haven  community, as well as activating the Dumbarton rail corridor - all of which are improvements that would benefit not only their employees, but Belle Haven residents as well.

Facebook has been receiving a lot of praise from city officials for being the model "corporate citizen", and going above and beyond the public services mandated as a condition of their continued development.  And it's true - Facebook is clearly conscious of the strain their rapid growth is putting on housing market in the surrounding communities.  It is part of the reason why they are helping fund the construction of a 394-unit apartment complex near their headquarters, and why they are offering to help bring thousands of additional housing units in the future.

It will be interesting to see what the Belle Haven community looks like a few years from now.  If Facebook delivers on even half of what they've suggested to the city, the area will be undergoing a serious transformation.

A graphic of what the Belle Haven community could look like in the future.  Areas highlighted in blue are Facebook owned territories. Image provided by City of Menlo Park

Redwood City's Newest Apartment Complex Changes Hands, New Owner Has Corporate Guided Vision

Redwood City’s The Lane on the Boulevard has been sold and rebranded before most residents even knew that it was open for business.  The 141 unit luxury apartment community has been sold to Singapore based company Mapletree for $84 million, and is now operated by their partners at Oakwood Worldwide, a company that specializes in temporary corporate housing.  Although the complex is already ¾ leased out, Oakwood says they intend to use the remaining units as extended stay rooms for their corporate clients.  While they didn’t disclose who those clients might be, Oakwood did hint that they work with up to three-quarters of the Fortune 1000 companies.

The previous owner, SummerHill Housing, had already designed the complex to cater to a more upscale crowd.  The rooms, though small, come fully furnished with washer/dryer, walk-in closet, dishwasher, air conditioning, patio/balcony, and high speed internet.  There is also a community fitness center, pool, clubhouse, chef’s kitchen, spa, and outdoor fireplace.  Summerhill even took steps to clean up the surrounding areas. They bought out the lease on the adult bookstore across the street, had the area rezoned to make sure another one couldn’t open, and payed to landscape a neighboring Public Utilities Commission site so it wasn’t an eyesore to their tenants.

But beyond the obvious benefit of the complex already being tailored to their corporate clientele, Oakwood says they were particularly drawn to Redwood City as a new found hub of growth and activity in the Silicon Valley.  “There’s job growth and new jobs and migration in that area,” said Kristen Zimmerman, vice president of real estate investments for Oakwood Worldwide. “Redwood City was one of our ideal submarkets within Silicon Valley".

Redwood City's growth has been no secret.  Box Inc. signed a lease in downtown’s Crossing/900 Development, Google purchased six office buildings at the Pacific Shores Center, and the city has constructed more than 1,500 housing units since 2007 – more than any other city in San Mateo County, but still not enough to meet the growing demand. 

When you take into account the increasing presence of big name corporations and the stiff competition for housing in Redwood City, it should come as no surprise that a company like Oakwood Worldwide would want to secure some prime real estate for their clients.  Still, to anyone that gets nostalgic about the old Redwood City, this purchase could be disappointing.  The name “The Lane on the Boulevard” was an homage to Mel’s Bowl, the bowling alley that used to occupy the site of the new apartment complex.  With the changing of the name to Oakwood Redwood City, the only remaining trace of Mel's Bowl is their old sign that is proudly displayed in front of Redwood City Car Wash on El Camino.

Facebook Open New Campus, Invites Instagrammers to Take Photos

Aerial view of Facebook's new West Campus and it's rooftop park

Facebook recently completed their new Frank Gehry designed campus right across the Bayfront Expressway from their current headquarters at 1 Hacker Way.  To celebrate the completion of this new building, 1 Facebook Way, they invited some of their favorite Instagrammers to shoot some photos.

Photo by Instagram user, coryiander

The building itself is pretty simple.  "That's on purpose", said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  "We want our space to feel like a work in progress.  When you enter our buildings, we want you to feel how much left there is to be done in our mission to connect the world".  The interior features exposed support beams and plywood surfaces throughout and is essentially one big open floorplan, though there are private meeting rooms off to the side.

Photo by Instagram user, @alissa_isms

In this case, 'simple' does not equate to boring or ordinary.  The interior is flush with custom artwork, and the roof consists of a 9 acre park, complete with a half-mile walking trail and somewhere around 400 trees.  The rooftop park not only gives employees a place to clear their heads, but it also saves energy by providing additional insulation to the building.

Rooftop park by night, Photo by Gehry Partners

The new campus is officially open for business, though Facebook says it will be sometime before their employees fully move in.  When it's all said and done the new facility will house around 2,800 employees.

Photo by Instagram user, lizardshep