Stanford to Break Ground on RWC Campus Fall '16

Stanford University's Redwood City campus is one step closer to becoming a reality.  Last week, the Board of Trustees approved design plans for the 1.5 million S/F campus, and will submit them to the City of Redwood City for design approval by early 2016.

The Redwood City campus will be the University's first significant expansion outside of the main campus. It will be home to around 2,300 Stanford employees in such critical areas as the Graduate School of Business; School of Medicine administration; Stanford Libraries and University Archives; the major administrative units of Business Affairs; Lands, Building and Real Estate; University Human Resources; Residential & Dining Enterprises; and the Office of Development.

Richard Livingston, Stanford University's CFO/VP of Business and Affairs, will be among the 2,300 faculty making the move to Redwood City.

Stanford purchased the Midpoint Technology Park back in 2005 as a part of their plan for future growth.  Now a decade removed from the purchase, it appears the future has arrived.  The 35-acre site, located at the old Midpoint Technology Park on 405 Broadway, will be home to:

-High-end fitness center with a pool
-Modern child care center
-Cafes and a food pavilion
-A town square that will serve as the civic heart of the campus
-Ample parking
-Open spaces and attractive landscaping
-State-of-the-art buildings with ample light and views
-Areas for collaborative working and conferencing
-BeWell programs
-Shuttle service and traffic management programs

"Stanford's Redwood City campus will be infused with the ethos of the main campus, drawing from programmatic, cultural and design attributes", said David Lenox, the University's architect. "It will feel like Stanford. Covered arcades along the greenway connecting buildings and landscaped spaces; the use of warm, high-quality building materials in the Stanford palette; and spaces for active and passive recreation are just a few examples."

Redwood City already approved Stanford's development plan back in 2013 (which includes $15.1 million towards public benefits), as well as the accompanying environmental impact report, and community benefits package.   Assuming the city approves this recently unveiled design plan, the project's groundbreaking is tentatively set for the Fall of '16, with the first phase of construction being completed in 2019.

New Supreme Court Ruling Could Prohibit Use of Open House Signs

As a real estate salesperson trying to direct open house traffic to your listing, one of your most effective tools is the A-frame sign (the signs you see propped up on street corners every weekend pointing in the direction of open houses).  At busy intersections you might even see 3 or 4 from different brokerages.

In addition to helping funnel buyers into your open houses, A-frames are also a way for brokerages to build brand recognition.  They are usually emblazoned with your company logo and colors, so even when passerby aren't headed to your open houses, the signs and your company gradually become familiar.

However, due to a recent Supreme Court ruling, the right to display these signs on public property may be in jeopardy.  The ruling states that any sign regulation passed by a city government must be content-neutral, meaning restrictions can be placed on the placement, type, or size of a sign, but not on it's message.  As a consequence of this ruling, any municipality with an active sign code will be forced to re-evaluate the regulations to ensure they are content neutral.

This puts the use of open house signs in jeopardy because many cities permit their use only through an exemption to their sign code.  Upon re-evaluation, these exemptions will likely be seen as non-content neutral, leaving city lawmakers with two options:

1) Grant the right to place directional signs to everyone, not just real estate brokerages.  This means gun shops, liquor stores, adult entertainment stores etc.

2) Throw out all sign exemptions so that no businesses can display directional signs.

The second choice would be the easier, so many cities are likely to go that route barring some lobbying from Realtor Organizations.  The Supreme Court ruling does leave room for exemptions to a sign code if the exemption serves a compelling government interest, and Realtor Organizations will likely use this as the grounds to their lobbying since the Supreme Court has in the past cited open house signs as an asset to fair housing practices.

One thing is for sure: RealSmart Properties, and other brokerages across the nation, will be waiting eagerly to see how this all plays out at the local level.  We rely heavily on A-frame signs, especially when we have listings in areas that can be tough to navigate like Emerald Hills.