Stanford Purchases RWC Property for $39.5 Million

Stanford University has officially purchased the last piece of the 35-acre puzzle that will become "Stanford in Redwood City".   550 Broadway, a nearly 2.5-acre parcel last home to a data center and administrative office for Genentech, was purchased by Stanford in an off-market sale last month for $35.9 million, according to public record.  It joins 1228 Douglass Ave, and 405, 425, 475, 500-585 Broadway as addresses slated for redevelopment in Stanford's first major campus expansion.

It is unclear at the moment what Stanford's long term plans are for their most recently acquired piece of Redwood City real estate, but it does not look like it will factor into phase one of the Stanford in Redwood City project, which broke ground December of last year.  According to a report from the Silicon Valley Business Journal, the University is currently exploring leasing out the site's existing 68,000 square foot building on a short term basis.

Phase 1 of the Stanford in Redwood City project is projected to finish sometime in 2019.  Once completed, it will feature four office buildings, a town square and park (open to the public), outdoor dining areas and plazas, a child care center, a parking garage, a glass atrium fitness center, and its own sustainable central utility plant.  Some improvements to the surrounding roadways and intersections are included in phase 1 as well.  Pictured below is an overview of the phase 1 layout, with the recent acquisition at 550 Broadway highlighted in blue.

There is no set timeline beyond phase 1, but when it's all said and done Stanford's first major campus expansion will feature 13 buildings, totaling roughly 1.5 million square feet of office, medical clinics, and R&D space.  Further, as part of the University's development agreement with Redwood City, they have pledged $15.1 million in public benefits.  

The Redwood City campus will mirror the look and feel of the Palo Alto campus, and much of the ground will be open to the public.  The University's free shuttle service will be accessible to the public as well.

Stay tuned for updates.

Tesla Looking to Set Up Shop in Redwood City

An architect working on behalf of Tesla has filed an application with Redwood City to redevelop 515 Veterans into a sales office, warehouse, and service center/garage. The 23,000 square foot site, located at the corner of Whipple and Veterans, is currently home to Crunch fitness and Chef Peking, a Chinese restaurant.

Rough sketch of Tesla's proposed project

In order for the pioneering electric car manufacturer to use the land as desired, the site's zoning will have to be amended to add Vehicular Combination Zoning District to its existing Industrial Park zoning.  City staff are currently reviewing the environmental implications of such a zoning change at 515 Veterans, but as the company notes in their proposal:

"Servicing an electric automobile is different from servicing a gas-powered car. Tesla’s vehicles have no internal combustion engine. This vehicle is exclusively electric and is not hybrid. Accordingly, there is no exhaust system, no fuel tanks, no liquid fuel usage, no new or used motor oil, no noise from the vehicle, and no emissions like hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide that are emitted from an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. Instead of an engine, an electric motor powers Tesla’s vehicles. Electric motors require little to no maintenance.”

With this in mind, it's probably safe to say that Tesla isn't terribly worried about how their electric car service station will stand up to environmental scrutiny.

I wouldn't expect the public review phase to be very rigorous either - this project wouldn't be displacing any housing opportunities (as the land is not zoned for residential), it isn't likely to introduce any more traffic to the area than the existing gym and restaurant, and the surrounding area is already home to several auto dealerships and service centers.  So unless Tesla backs out, my money says it's only a matter of time before Redwood City is welcoming one of Silicon Valley's most iconic and innovative companies to its workforce.

Why Redwood City?

Tesla's desire to open a shop in Redwood City is likely part of a larger effort to increase their sales capacity.  They just started delivering their most affordable car yet - the Tesla 3 - to customers in July, and demand for the car reportedly far exceeds the number of cars available.  On Monday, they announced they would be raising $1.5 billion through their first ever offering of "junk bonds" in order to get the cash necessary to ramp up production of the Tesla 3 sedan.   As production increases and Tesla becomes a more accessible and mainstream auto manufacturer, they will likely look to set up additional service and sales centers to accommodate demand.

Stay tuned to my blog for updates as this proposal progresses through city review.