542 moving on

With the median cost of an SF home just under $2 million, the Bay Area housing shortage is crying out for ideas.

The city set up a task force of planning professionals to come up with some ideas. Their plan involves some corridors of higher density redevelopment. (See illustration at top.)

While it's scary to think about lost views, new shadows, and ugly ass block-long mid-rises replacing our lovely mixed up store fronts, this idea does look like a "city."

Sure, eventually we'd get used to it. 

But could we do better? The basic ideas are all the same: tear down some existing buildings, and replace with bigger buildings. But what if we had a bunch of real estate that could be developed without tearing anything down?

We're not talking about the parking lots at Great America.

Where theme park operator Cedar Fair just pulled a pretty neat trick. After leasing their 112 acre site for 40 years, they purchased it from the "city" of Santa Clara three years ago for $150 million.

Now they've sold it for twice that. Adios theme park, hello condos and offices. And they're not alone.

Chevron is also getting ready to develop its 100 acre headquarters in the East Bay.

But what if we had more available real estate, right in the city? That's currently costing us money, and being used for free?

That's right, you know what I'm talking about. Taking it to the streets.

What if instead of/along with that redevelopment, we did some creative infill?

The best part is, it's already happening. Studies and planners be damned, the future has a way of arriving at it's own pace.

The same could be said about the issues our "powers that be" are attempting to drag us backwards on. The old stories just don't hold water anymore. We've moved on. 

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