East Palo Alto may be one of the few U.S cities of 30,000 residents lacking a supermarket. Now this 23-year-old city is close to getting one on a 6-acre vacant lot, but increased land costs forced the new developer to renegotiate the prior plan.
"At a recent community meeting, Barry Swenson, the San Jose mega-developer that bought the six-acre lot last summer, made it known that a taller building will make a supermarket more likely. Architects said 10 to 12 stories with close to 200 for-sale units is ideal."
"Swenson's plans double the density and height proposed last year in a different supermarket plan by the site's former developer. That deal crashed when the landowner, who wanted $8 million within 60 days, backed out and sold to Swenson. Ryan said Thursday that Swenson paid $6 million for the land."
"Plans for a high-rise building in the middle of East Palo Alto are alarming to many residents, said Council Member Pat Foster, and will likely meet resistance from the community and the City Council."
"There are some benefits to a taller and bigger project. More units mean more affordable housing."
"But for East Palo Alto's 30,000 residents, the biggest issue is a local store that carries fresh produce and meat."
FULL STORY: Developer envisions 10-story complex
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t
Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)