Five years after Mountain View closed off three blocks of downtown Castro Street to vehicle traffic, the city is looking to add large, central crosswalks at two main intersections to create a continuous route for pedestrians walking down the center of the blocked off street. The first phase of the project, which city staff presented to the...
State laws boost townhome project near Palo Alto Baylands
An area near the Baylands that has historically been defined by low-density office buildings and athletic fields may soon become the first major residential community Palo Alto east of the U.S. Highway 101. That, at least, is the vision pitched by Strada, a San Francisco-based developer, for the site at 2100 Geng Road, which is just...
Castro Street project to end vehicle traffic at Mountain View Caltrain tracks
Mountain View’s north entrance to downtown Castro Street is finally getting a makeover after years of lingering half-measures, temporary traffic signs and roadway cones, with proposed changes that will finally eliminate all vehicle traffic crossing the Caltrain tracks. The transit project, which the city’s Council Transportation Committee reviewed Tuesday, would eliminate northbound traffic on Castro Street across...
Silicon Valley properties part of Greystar $7M rent increase settlement
Greystar, the largest landlord in the U.S. with multiple major properties in Silicon Valley, has reached a $7 million settlement in an antitrust lawsuit that alleges the property management company colluded with competitors to drive up rent prices, according to a recent news release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The settlement is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed...
Mountain View approves Shoreline pathway improvements
Constructed more than five decades ago, the bicycle and pedestrian path along Shoreline Boulevard between Villa Street and Wright Avenue is in poor condition, with tree roots causing cracked and raised asphalt. That could all change starting next year, after the Mountain View City Council voted last month to move ahead with an $8.7 million improvement...
Palo Alto looks to strike new deal with trash hauler
Citing a track record of stable rates and flexible services, Palo Alto is preparing to renew its contract with GreenWaste Palo Alto, the trash hauler that has been collecting the city’s garbage, compost and recyclable materials since 2009. Under a deal that the City Council is scheduled to approve next week, GreenWaste would receive an...
6-story housing approved to replace Mountain View’s historic Chase Bank
The Mountain View City Council voted Tuesday to approve a new mixed-use housing project that will add hundreds of apartments at one of Mountain View’s most prominent intersections, preserving elements of the existing historic bank building on the site. While councilmembers sang the praises of the developer’s efforts to win over the community, build housing...
Mountain View approves 15-story builder’s remedy project near Highway 101
A 15-story builder’s remedy project in Mountain View could become one of the city’s tallest structures, towering above the surrounding one- to three-story homes and commercial buildings in a neighborhood near U.S. Highway 101. Mario Ambra, a former Mountain View Mayor who was removed from office by a civil grand jury more than two decades ago, is proposing to...
Palo Alto Town & Country Village looks to construct apartment buildings
After fiercely opposing a recently approved development with 10 condominiums on an adjacent lot, the owners of Town & Country Village are now looking to build a pair of seven-story apartment buildings on a parking lot next to the shopping center. Real estate investor Ellis Partners, which bought the property in 2004, filed a pre-application...
Palo Alto faces glaring concerns over new ‘dark sky’ law
Hoping to turn down the lights at night to protect wildlife and reduce glare from neighboring properties, Palo Alto officials are set to adopt a “dark sky” ordinance with a broader reach and more stringent requirements than the law they were mulling earlier this year. In doing so, however, they are confronting two key challenges....