Remember this idea? It was only the latest plan for the 15 acre site in Foster City. In reality, it seems to me that as long as I’ve been around Foster City (about 35 years if you count the times I visited here as a kid) there’s been a plan for this property that ultimately has seemed to turn to dust. This one looked good too…until the economy took it’s toll on Mirabella’s plan for the large retirement community they had planned there. Last week marked the end of Mirabella’s exclusivity contract for that site, and guess what? The San Mateo-Foster City school board would sure like some consideration for use of that land!
It seems like kind of a strange place…but it’s really the only place. What they’re talking about is a site for a new elementary school. Not a High School. It’s strange because both Brewer Island and Audubon schools are pretty close by. The largest area of enrollment growth is on the southwest side of town. According to the district, Foster City’s elementary school population will grow some 25 percent, from about 2,000 students now to nearly 2,500 children in the 2011-12 school year.
I have no doubt that the City wants the Mirabella project to resume and finish. They’re going to take their time figuring this out and I’m betting they’re going to be hoping that the economy rebounds significantly enough that Mirabella picks up where it left off. Here’s a Mercury News story about the site from last week:
Remember this? It was about a year ago that a delay was announced that told the folks that had signed up for the proposed new Mirabella project. This is the project that was set to complete the Parkview Plaza/15 acre site and sure has seemed to have been on the table for ages! If you recall, the plan to have a large senior center on this site was chosen a couple of years ago and sort of became controversial in parts of Foster City after the developer expanded the original plans and called for towers up to 12 stories.
That’s still the plan, but a week or so ago Pacific Retirement Services decided to return the $600,000 they had received in deposits from families who wanted to live in this project. Since the developers exclusive right to negotiate expires on April 1 of this year, and the SM-FC school board sort of would like to build a fourth elementary school around here, I think we can expect some discussion about the future use of this land…again.
The PRS folks are still saying they want to build on this site…so who knows? I personally love the idea of a “downtown” type destination for Foster City and while this plan wasn’t exactly Santana Row it’s better than alot of alternatives. I have no doubt that the City would love the long term revenue that would be produced by this project so I think we can expect that they will be pretty firm in their commitment to it, or something very much like it going forward. We’ll see. Anyway, here’s a SM Daily Journal link to a story about it:
The folks that were planning to make the move into the new Mirabella community that is planned on the big 15 acre site, or Parkview Plaza received a letter a few weeks ago announcing that the project is going to experience a delay for at least a year due to our current economic climate. The sales staff isn’t functioning there anymore and the folks who have made deposits are entitled to change their minds at this point and get refunds.
I guess the cynical part of me thinks, Oh no…is this thing ever going to happen? I really do hope so. It’s understandable that in this environment, obtaining financing and boldly moving forward with projects the size of this one could be delayed. I’ve been on record as favoring this project, it’s going to be great for the community…and I’m tired of that big vacant lot! This artist’s depiction sure makes the project look good, doesn’t it? Anyway, here’s a link to a San Mateo County Times story about this delay:
Isn’t it interesting that for every action, there truly is an equal and opposite reaction? It would appear that along with the proposed new developments in Foster City is also coming opposition to that growth. There’s a website called Save Foster City that’s expressing opposition to, it appears, the new developments coming to this town. These projects being an expanded Gilead Sciences and Chess Drive Project , The Mirabella/Parkview Plaza Project , and the Pilgrim-Triton Project It’s kind of unclear to me whether they want these projects scaled back, want just some projects scaled back…or don’t want any of them at all. I’ve been on record here as being excited about the possibilites that these projects, in my opinion, will bring to Foster City. I can’t imagine bringing this many jobs to Foster City having a negative impact on anything. Having a heavyweight like Gilead Sciences, for example, make this kind of an investment in FC is a terrific thing.
The problems that have been articulated fall this way: Too many buildings, too much height, big traffic problems, too expensive for citizens, public land used for private residences, and reduced property values. I know that this is just one guy’s opinion but here goes: The 15 acre site has been vacant forever. Unfortunately, there’s never going to be a public High School built there. What better use could there be for that site than a senior/town center type of development? It will certainly pay for itself. Why is the 14 story building a problem? Because it’ll effect the views from a small handful of condos on Foster City Blvd at the Admiralty? Aren’t they currently impacted by the JCC, City Hall and the Fire Station? Wouldn’t they have been impacted just as much if a public High School was built on that site? I guess you could say that the views from condos at the Islands have been effected by the Metro Center or Parkview Towers…but it sure didn’t impact their values.
The traffic issue is certainly a very valid concern. Above, you’ll find a 34 minute video of a presentation given to the planning commission by Fehr & Peers transportation consultants that pretty much covers this whole issue…including Pilgrim-Triton. If you’re of a mind too, I would encourage you to watch it. Even though it plays at times like, well…a traffic video, it’s very informative. Their recommendations, if enacted, sure look like they would have the desired impact insuring that “gridlock” will be avoided. I realize we have the issue of who’ll pay for it…I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion about that going forward too.
There’s a lot of things that I’m not sure of in these details, but here’s one thing that I am sure of. These projects will not negatively impact property values. I’ve said this before, the biggest single objection I get as a real estate agent about Foster City is “there’s no there there.” Mirabella/Parkview Plaza and Pilgrim-Triton will offer possible destinations for people to go to. If they’re done right I guarantee you that one day homes will be sold on Goldhunter or Pilgrim or Comet and condos will be sold at the Admiralty or City Homes and the listings will say “great location close to shopping and dining” or “walk to downtown” or something in that vein. There’s plenty of other Peninsula communities that have similar projects near residential and they’re thriving. I don’t know, I don’t think this is “paving paradise and putting up a parking lot”. Assuming that these projects are done right they’ll be a good thing for Foster City for years to come. Below is a link to the hard copy on thr traffic study, just in case you would like to read it.
Did you see any of the Halloween movies? The first one was a classic, done on a very small budget in 1978. At the end the bad guy, Michael Myers, get’s shot 6 times and falls from a second story balcony. Upon looking out the window we discover that Michael is nowhere to be found. There are 9 Halloween Movies and in all but one of them Michael Myers meets some kind of grisly end…only to resurface inexplicably in the next movie. This darn guy just won’t stay dead!
It kind of reminds me of the perpetual discussion about a High School in Foster City. I wrote a post about this topic in early April, Foster City High School…Not and at that time a charter school idea had just been dispatched in Jamie Lee Curtis style by the City Council…and then yesterday I read another article about how another group wanting to build the Magnolia Science Academy, a charter high school, were voted down again on Monday night. I kept thinking “I wonder if the idea was shot several times by sheriff’s deputies, which then fell down a mineshaft, which collapsed when the deputies threw dynamite down it. (Halloween 4, The Return of Michael Myers).
Who know’s? Is dead really ever dead? Never say never…maybe one day a proposal with some real merit will be floated that could be approved. I personally don’t think it’ll ever happen, I think the land in question has more value to the city in other capacities going forward. Until then maybe we can get John Carpenter to film this saga?
I had so much fun with the last podcast on Single Family Homes I thought I’d do it again for Condos and Townhouses. Just click on the gray arrow below and your off and running. Thanks!
That was the question last night when the City Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of a plan to allow more senior housing in the new project that will be built in what’s now being called Parkview Plaza. The developer has argued that because of economic conditions the plan as it was orginally drafted had become financially unsound and an increase of 25% was needed to build this project and have it make sense. There’s now going to be 420 units instead of the 331 that the original plan advanced. Exactly how this additional space will be configured is yet to be determined. With the councils approval, the planning commission now gets to study the nuts and bolts. Naturally, there were some dissenting opinions from some folks who have been opposed to this plan all along.
It’s been no big secret that I’m of the opinion that the creation of a downtown area for Foster City would be an enormous boost to this community and from all I’ve seen, Parkview Plaza looks pretty wonderful…plus it’ll be a great source of revenue for the City. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out design wise, but I think it’s perfectly understandable for the developer to have a plan that allows them to make money with this project. Here’s a link to today’s San Mateo Daily News and their story on this topic:
As I’ve said before on this Blog, my family’s been in Foster City for over 40 years and I’ve been in the Bay Area since 1990…moving here from Colorado. I don’t think there’s any subject that I’ve heard discussed more often and with more passion in Foster City than the subject of a High School in this community. I remember discussions about it when I visited in 1978 when I was a sophomore in college and there were high hopes for it’s apparently inevitable construction in the area that will now be home to Parkview Plaza (the new name given to the 15 acre site, in case you hadn’t heard). I know that for a long, long time many very passionate people have tried to bring a High School to this town and it finally appears that, after all is said and done, it’s never going to happen.
I’m not sure if it’s a distant memory or it’s family folklore but, as I recall, the topic of a High School was voted on here on more than one occasion over the years and didn’t pass. If memory serves there were those that didn’t want additional taxes to be levied as well as the fact that creation of a High School meant separation from the San Mateo school district…and our brothers and sisters in San Mateo were not too crazy about losing that revenue. They fought it successfully. Ultimately in 1999 the City Council amended the land use designation of the 27 acre site from high school to public/semi-public development of the Civic Center Master Plan. Then in 2002 the Peninsula Jewish Community Center was granted a lease for 12 acres, the other 15 acres was leased to a private Episcopal High School venture. They couldn’t raise the necessary funds to build and thus the land became available again. In 2003 the plan changed into a Charter High School concept that was approved by the City Council as well as the San Mateo School Board. Unfortunately funding for this concept was never completely ironed out and it ultimately became clear that the City could produce significantly more revenue going forward by using the 15 acre site for something other than a High School. It was far more important as a revenue source for the future as a commercial and residential development than it would be as a school so 11 acres were carved out for Parkview Plaza and the remaining 4 acres were then to be used as a Charter High School.
Even more trouble brewed last fall when it became apparent that only a relatively small number of Foster City kids would use the school at all….possibly as low as 200 out of a total number of 1200 High School aged kids in town while the rest would be at the discretion of the San Mateo school board. It also didn’t help that the charter petition had changed the name of the school to the Arts and Technology High School of San Mateo. That didn’t go over real well at a City Council meeting last fall.
So last week it seemed that a white towel finally got thrown into the ring when a newsletter was sent to supporters asking for more leaders to step up or the group might have to disband. It’s become very, very hard to generate excitement and financial support for this 4 acre, scaled down school. Don’t expect to see a photo of a Foster City High School…like the one above, I’m betting it’ll never happen. I’m sure there’s plenty of passions on all sides of this issue, so don’t hesitate to comment and express your point of view. Here’s a link to a San Mateo Times story on this issue:
The basic design for the new downtown area in the 15 acre-Village Square site was unveiled last week at a Planning Commission study session and was met with rave reviews (how about that!) from both folks in attendance as well as from Commissioners. The model shown was a revision of one produced earlier and this one features much taller residential towers, up to 14 stories in some places, yet opens up clear site-lines along many key corridors. The center of the main plaza will have a pavilion that could be used as a restaurant. Now that the basis design is a go the architecture of the buildings will begin to be developed. It’s hoped that construction could begin by the summer of 2009. Here’s a link to more about this:
On Sunday afternoon I was driving to visit a friend of mine in Burlingame and I made the incredibly poor decision to stop by Peet’s Coffee in downtown San Mateo for a latte. Do you suppose I could find a parking place? I drove around and around for 20 minutes or more and after deciding that the latte wasn’t worth a cross town walk I made bad decision number two and headed for the downtown Burlingame Peet’s. Yes, I am stupid! Downtown Burlingame was worse than San Mateo. Why is it like this? Because they both have thriving, lively downtown areas filled with shops and restaurants and people want to go there. Both of them are destinations!
For as long as I can remember Foster City has lacked that kind of a downtown destination. As hard as we’ve tried it hasn’t been Edgewater Place or any of the other local shopping centers. For awhile it actually seemed to be that little strip center across from Costco that managed to hit all at once with Jamba Juice, Noah’s Bagels and Starbucks. It was hard to find parking there! As hard to believe as it is that was Foster City’s downtown for awhile.
As of last fall that’s all going to change. The city chose a developer, the Sares Regis Group, who’ll be creating a very exciting downtown area for Foster City on a large parcel of vacant land located between Foster City Blvd and Shell Blvd, and between the new Jewish Community Center and Hillsdale Blvd. The project is actually located on an 11 acre portion of the 15 acre City owned property in that area. The plans call for the following:
* A Continuing Care Retirement Community that would include Independent, Assisted and Memory care units as well as Skilled Nursing.
* A large outdoor area designed to host a variety of public and private events including outdoor seating for restaurants, a farmers market, art displays and entertainments areas.
* 31,300 square feet of retail/restaurant space in the first phase of the project and an additional 19,000 square feet of retail/restaurant in a future development phase.
The project should begin in 2009 and many of the design details are still not finalized but if this is worked out correctly, in my humble opinion, this project should effect property values in Foster City as positively as the Lagoons have. The inclusion of a downtown atmosphere, a destination spot, is just going to be a fabulous things for everybody in town. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the property values in Burlingame, San Mateo and San Carlos have remained strong a a result of their downtown’s attracting people there. Foster City’s waterfront location is an esthetically beautiful aspect to life here and adding the fun of a downtown destination will only make Foster City stronger than ever. Maybe one day there will even be a Peet’s there! Here’s a link to more info:
Chris Canfield 
Robert Amato 
anonymous 
Alex Cortez 
Guru 
Julia Mitchell 
AR 
The basic design for the new downtown area in the 15 acre-Village Square site was unveiled last week at a Planning Commission study session and was met with rave reviews (how about that!) from both folks in attendance as well as from Commissioners. The model shown was a revision of one produced earlier and this one features much taller residential towers, up to 14 stories in some places, yet opens up clear site-lines along many key corridors. The center of the main plaza will have a pavilion that could be used as a restaurant. Now that the basis design is a go the architecture of the buildings will begin to be developed. It’s hoped that construction could begin by the summer of 2009. Here’s a link to more about this: