Bay Area Land News - July 11, 2019
US / California / Bay Area News
Editorial: The houses Newsom hasn’t built
San Francisco Chronicle
During his campaign for governor, Gavin Newsom signaled a new and appropriately urgent approach to the housing shortage by vowing to put up 3.5 million homes over seven years, which would require more than quintupling the state’s anemic housing production. So far, however, California’s new approach to the crisis looks a lot like its old approach to the crisis.
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A tale of two cities: How SF and San Jose are approaching co-living projects
San Francisco Chronicle
One reason developers have been slow to build co-living projects in San Francisco is the city’s 2013 decision to require “group home” projects to meet the same affordable housing requirements as other market-rate developments. The decision killed a project that developer Build Inc. and co-living provider Open Door proposed at 1532 Harrison St. The proposal called for 235 micro-suites organized around 28 shared living spaces.
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Rent control bill struggles in California Legislature
San Francisco Chronicle
Lawmakers and landlords are haggling over how much California housing to carve out of a tenant protection bill that would cap rent increases and require a just cause for evictions.
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California-wide rent cap advances despite landlord opposition
East Bay Times
A bill that would impose a statewide rent cap and restrict evictions moved forward Tuesday, marking a victory for advocates who so far have been struggling to pass legislation aimed at easing the state’s housing crisis.
California ranks as one of the worst states to retire, report says
East Bay Times
California has long been famed for its natural beauty, from purple sand beaches and bright orange poppies to giant redwoods, but that’s not enough to boost our status as a great place to retire.
San Francisco News
Exclusive: S.F. megaproject developer's search for cash leaves potential partners confused
San Francisco Business Times
The Beijing conglomerate working on the big S.F. project is looking for an influx of new loans or investment.
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Chain store bans in San Francisco leave more shops empty, critics say
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco is home to some of fashion’s biggest names: Levi Strauss & Co., Gap and Old Navy. But in three neighborhoods — North Beach, Chinatown and Hayes Valley — those local companies are banned from opening new stores.
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SF office rents soar to fresh record amid supply crunch
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco office rents reached a record in June as the continued growth of tech — now turbocharged by capital raised in a series of initial public offerings — met a severe space crunch.
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What does London lack that SF has in abundance? Misery on the streets
San Francisco Chronicle
Most tourists visiting London are awed by Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge. But when you’re a longtime San Franciscan traipsing around the British capital, some of the city’s most striking sights are those that aren’t there at all.
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The numbers are in: SF homeless population rose 30% since 2017
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco’s appalling homeless problem seemed to worsen only modestly compared to the rest of the Bay Area when the city released its preliminary homeless-count numbers in May. The first glimpse showed a 17% uptick — not great, sure, but not as bad as Alameda County’s 43% rise. Or Santa Clara’s 31% increase.
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Largest affordable housing bond in SF’s history headed to November ballot
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco voters will be asked to weigh in on the biggest affordable housing bond in city history this November, a measure that could lead to the construction of about 2,800 new affordable housing units in the next four years.
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Pinterest's new SoMa home seeks approvals, office allocation
San Francisco Business Times
Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners want to finalize 88 Bluxome in Central SoMa.
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South Bay News
Radical thinking needed to solve South Bay traffic woes
The Mercury News
A scathing grand jury report virtually demanded that agencies forget how they’ve been grappling with monstrous traffic jams and one of the worst performing transit systems for nearly three decades and instead think of revolutionary solutions to the South Bay’s mounting traffic woes.
Why Mayor Liccardo differs with high-speed rail on its San Jose route preferences
Silicon Valley Business Journal
"There will be no local political support for a Valley-to-Valley extension if the (high-speed rail) agency insists on an alignment that fails to accommodate the clearly and reasonably-expressed needs of San Jose residents for safety and neighborhood integrity," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in an email.
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Santa Clara County's assessed property values top half a trillion. There are plusses and minuses to that.
Silicon Valley Business Journal
The milestone reflects both the tech-driven boom in the local economy fueling unprecedented commercial property development as well as a significant increase in economic inequity that is driving the poor and the young from Silicon Valley.
Opportunity Zone investor Urban Catalyst snaps up two San Jose properties near planned Google campus
Silicon Valley Business Journal
San Jose real estate developer and Opportunity Zone investor Urban Catalyst spent $2.8 million to buy a quarter-acre property on West San Carlos Street, just blocks away from the planned Google campus coming to downtown San Jose.
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From the editor: 17 years later, San Jose's Evans Lane project starts over
Silicon Valley Business Journal
The story of this affordable housing project in San Jose is a sobering reminder that it can be tremendously difficult to do the right thing.
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Bo Town site in downtown San Jose is grabbed by busy developer
East Bay Times
One of downtown San Jose’s most active developers and investors has bought the Bo Town restaurant site in an up-and-coming section of the city’s urban core, in a deal that was completed Tuesday.
Opinion: Cupertino illustrates why California must act to solve housing crisis
The Mercury News
Everyone in Silicon Valley and California knows we have a massive housing crisis. Now’s the time for our state representatives to step up and pass a bold set of solutions so all families — white, black, brown, and Asian — can have a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home.
Peninsula News
Santa Clara County doesn’t budge on housing requirements for Stanford’s expansion plans
The Mercury News
Despite Stanford University’s concerns over adding more housing to its massive expansion project, Santa Clara County is moving ahead with a plan that calls for nearly four times more housing units for faculty and staff than the university proposed.
Stanford's development agreement has been denied, but that doesn't mean it won't happen
Silicon Valley Business Journal
Stanford's general use permit moves forward without the development agreement, but the board of supervisors, which has final say on both, could resume negotiation on an agreement if it chooses.
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San Carlos council updates housing developer rules
The Daily Journal
In an effort to accelerate the speed at which affordable housing units are built in San Carlos, officials on Monday approved updates to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance to require residential apartment building developers to include such units within their plans.
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High-speed rail project plans eyed in San Mateo County
The Daily Journal
How plans to increase service on the Caltrain corridor will intersect with potential high-speed rail service was top of mind for San Mateo County officials as they reviewed the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s recommended changes for the rail corridor at the Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday meeting.
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San Bruno turns away 425-unit project from Oakland developer
San Francisco Business Times
Signature Development and G.W. Williams Co. wanted to add two new residential buildings to the Peninsula city.
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North Bay News
30,000 acres of agricultural land purchased in Solano County draws questions
The Mercury News
The purchase of up to 30,000 acres of agricultural land between Suisun City and Rio Vista has taken many by surprise, prompting questions about who specifically purchased this land and for what purpose.