Around the Terrace: January 15, 2021

Here are some recent announcements and news stories of interest to College Terrace and the surrounding area.

Country Sun Open Again
After a brief closure last week, Country Sun is now open with shorter than their usual hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 9am-5pm.

California Avenue Tree Trimming
The City Urban Forestry staff will be teaming up with an arborist from West Coast Arborists (WCA) to prune the trees on California Avenue beginning Tuesday, January 19th. They expect that this will be completed in 1 or 2 days and will necessitate a few No Parking signs. Following that, they will be doing some pruning on Cambridge, most likely 4 -5 days of work. Any questions? Ask Derek Sprout, Project Manager in the City’s Urban Forestry Section; his email is Derek.Sproat@CityofPaloAlto.org.

College Terrace Centre Sold to New Investor
The building that houses the new Real Produce International Market, First Republic Bank, and other businesses, was sold in late December to new investors for just over $100 million. The previous owners, investment firms Blox Ventures and Angelo Gordon, purchased the property in June 2018 for $78.5 million.

Seeking CTRA Volunteers for 2021-22
After canceling last year’s annual meeting and board election, the CTRA is hoping to hold both this spring. We have a number of roles to fill on the CTRA board; if you’re interested, email ctra-president@collegeterrace.org for more information.

Real Produce International Market is Open!

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Finally, some good news to end 2020: Real Produce International Market is now open at the corner of El Camino and Oxford Street. This is the market that replaces Khoury’s Market and the College Terrace Market.

Unlike those previous markets, this one has large, colorful signs in the windows and huge bins of beautiful produce out front. Inside you’ll find more produce (including organic), a deli, meat counter, and a wide variety of items you won’t find at other grocery stores in Palo Alto.

Celebrate the New Year by shopping and supporting our new local market!

UniLu Considering EV Chargers

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Update (January 15, 2021): Thanks for all the feedback! After surveying the neighborhood, the church was unable to generate enough interest to warrant installing EV chargers at this time.

University Lutheran Church, located on Bowdoin Street at Stanford Avenue, is interested in installing EV chargers that would be available for use by College Terrace neighbors. They’re currently trying to assess whether these chargers would be used. See the note below and let them know if you’d use these chargers.

Hi neighbors, 

Do you own an electric vehicle (EV) OR are you planning to make an EV your next car*?  If so, do you need access to EV charging stations in or around College Terrace?

We’d like to install EV charging stations for neighborhood use at Bowdoin and Stanford Avenue to support the growth of EV adoption.*

Would this be a valuable resource for you now or for a future resource? 

If yes, please let me know. 

Kim Marinucci Acker
Climate Action Team Leader
University Lutheran Church
kimacker @ gmail . com

* EV vehicles are becoming more and more affordable in the used market ($8,500-$19K) not including the reduced cost of ownership (no gas and greatly reduced maintenance–no oil, tune ups, transmission repairs)

CTRA Meeting on Teacher Housing Proposal at 231 Grant Ave.

On Wednesday, December 2nd at 7pm, the CTRA is hosting a community information meeting on the proposed development of teacher and school employee housing at 231 Grant Avenue. This is across the street from the county courthouse, just a couple blocks off California Avenue.

Micaela Hellman-Tincher from Supervisor Joe Simitian’s office and Sarah Chaffin from the Mercy Housing and Abode Communities Team are excited to share details about this development and answer any questions. They’re looking for community feedback as the development process begins.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. To RSVP, email ctra-president@collegeterrace.org. You’ll receive a link to join the event before it begins on Wednesday, December 2nd at 7pm.

231 Grant Avenue Proposal: An Overview

Mercy Housing California and Abode Communities are working in conjunction with the County of Santa Clara, represented by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, Facebook, the City of Palo Alto, and participating school districts in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties to develop new housing on a county-owned site. The property, located at 231 Grant Avenue in Palo Alto, offers an exciting opportunity to create new high-quality, and much needed, rental housing affordable for teachers, school employees, and their families. This new community will include approximately 110 units of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, amenity spaces, and landscaped gardens.

Commitment to Community Involvement

231 Grant is in the initial phase of engaging the surrounding community. Mercy Housing California and Abode Communities are committed to incorporating the local community into the development process through meetings with neighbors, neighborhood associations, and local leaders, as well as public meetings and regular written and electronic communications. In addition, they are collaborating with local teachers and school employees from San Mateo and Santa Clara County School Districts, including Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View Whisman, Mountain View Los Altos, and the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. In observance of health guidelines related to COVID-19, Mercy Housing and Abode will solicit community input through virtual meetings, email, regular mail, and the 231 Grant website (in development).

Join the Stanford Community Plan Stakeholder Group

The County of Santa Clara Department of Planning and Development has begun the Stanford University Community Plan Update process and is starting initial community outreach including meetings with stakeholder groups, including neighborhood groups.

The planners would like to set up a stakeholder meeting soon to receive your input on the Community Plan Update. If you would like to be part of this stakeholder group, please email skwon@m-group.us with your contact information.

By way of background, the Stanford lands located within unincorporated Santa Clara County are governed by the goals, policies, and programs in the Stanford Community Plan (“Community Plan”) that is part of the Santa Clara County General Plan. The Community Plan was adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in 2000, and most recently amended in 2015. The Community Plan update is the first phase of planned work to update the overall County General Plan.

The Community Plan update will consist of background, data, and policy updates to the seven elements of the Community Plan: Growth and Development, Land Use, Housing, Circulation, Open Space, Resource Conservation, and Health and Safety. The project will also include preparation of a Municipal Services Study, Childcare Study, and a Graduate Student Housing Affordability Study to inform the updates to the Community Plan.

Visit the project website at StanfordCommunityPlanUpdate.org for more information.