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<br /> . . . .. <br /> <br /> Mateo County. He said he was confident "for sale" housing would work well on the <br /> Lonestar site, or any portion of the Franklin Street Area, acknowledging that selling <br />- units next to 4-story buildings is "more challenging" but very doable. He said most <br /> developers today are focusing on grade level, 3-story buildings, because platform <br /> buildings have inherent challenges. <br /> In response to Board Director's questions regarding ease of sale of both types of <br /> housing in a mixed use area, Mr. Ryness said he could more accurately answer if he <br /> could see the Master Plan. He said, "for rent and 'for sale' people are not happy <br /> companions.... 'for sale' people are more security minded." He said "we are always <br /> concerned when we are right next to a for rent facility because of the shadowing factor <br /> if the for rent is quite tall, and the vehicular traffic, because for rent communities tend <br /> to pull more site visits than 'for sale'." <br /> Jeff Hansen, Project Director of Land Acquisitions of Shea Homes of Northern <br /> California, a 120 year old firm, one of the top 20 home builders in the country, said <br /> Mr. Butler asked him to address the Agency Board on the subject of "for sale" housing <br /> in the Franklin Street Area. Mr. Hansen said he agreed with Mr. Ryness that the <br /> demand for urban core infill "for sale" housing is very "considerable." He described a <br /> very successful project called River Oaks in downtown San Jose. Mr. Hansen said <br /> Shea Homes develops both "for rent" and "for sale" housing. He said it was critical to <br /> look at the area as a whole, "the concept of critical mass which is important for <br /> financial analyses, intTastructure concerns, development agreements with the city <br />- involved, and a whole host of concerns important both to the municipality and the <br /> developer... 'For sale' housing in the Franklin Street Area could be very successful. It <br /> should be well designed, constitute part of the gateway to your City; however, we have <br /> master developed many large tracts as well as infill sites, and the more you reduce the <br /> property available for critical mass... the more challenging it becomes to do 'for sale' <br /> housing. If you deem 'for sale' housing an appropriate component of your downtown <br /> redevelopment effort, now would be the time to plan for it, and to undertake whatever <br /> analyses necessary to determine its viability. If it were up to me, one of the next steps <br /> in a project like this would be to do a mixed use Master Plan for the entire Franklin <br /> Street Area." Mr. Hansen said a retail component along El Camino Real would be <br /> appropriate. He agreed with Mr. Ryness on the demand for urban infill projects, the <br /> demographics, and described the San Mateo County buyers who have bought in the <br /> East Bay. He said, "on the eve of tax day, given the choice, people will buy." He said <br /> his company was eager to pursue this opportunity in the Franklin Street Area, and said <br /> urban infill "for sale" housing is a concept whose time has come. Mr. Hansen said that <br /> his company has initiated a program, "a liability insurance program to allow some <br /> contractors and design professionals who have been scared away by the construction <br /> defect litigation crisis, to in fact, obtain insurance and be able to participate in this type <br /> of construction." <br />- <br /> SPECIAL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO.1 APRIL 14, 1997 <br /> MINUTES Page No. 411 PAGE 9 <br />