Los Altos Real Estate Blog

Shoppers and residents have had to deal with blocked intersections, closed streets, construction trucks, and other challenges in downtown Los Altos for months.  At first glance it would appear that foot traffic is down and that all this work must be hurting business.  However, a handful of quick conversations with merchants and folks behind the counter tells a different story.  It appears that consumers are finding other places to park and business is doing just fine.

Main Street is the last street to face a closure that results in a major redirection of traffic.  The intersection of Main and 3rd Streets is closed for a while longer while the new sidewalks are installed.  However, it appears that the businesses on Main street between 2nd/3rd and 3rd/State are doing just fine.  When I walked into the Italian Deli and Spot Pizza, both were just as busy as any other day, if not moreso.  One merchant commented that people are parking at the south end of Main Street and walking north.  Perhaps they don't know about the parking behind those businesses?  Regardless, it appears that commerce is still fine even with the minor inconveniences.

The hope, of course, is that all this construction will bring more people to downtown Los Altos and businesses will get much more business down the road.  The building going up along San Antonio and 2nd Street is making progress with steel installed.  This is a major office building project that would bring a lot of folks to downtown Los Altos.  The office building going up on 2nd Street across from the Los Altos Grill is also making progress.  While it will be a long time before those buildings are done, it will be nice to have them finished so our businesses can benefit from all the employees spending in downtown shops.

The ongoing redevelopment and construction in downtown Los Altos has left visitors with a little more dust and dirt than they'd like to see.  I had a nice meeting with propsective clients at the Le Boulanger on Friday afternoon and was surprised to see that work was still going on at the corner of 2nd and Main Streets.  As you can see from the picture, they've put in the firms for the first, uncolored concrete segments.  Once those cure, they'll work on the next colored segments.  Since this is the busiest section of downtown Los Altos, it's no surprise that closing this intersection is disrupting business.  The Le Boulanger was pretty quiet when I arrived at 3PM.  The construction not only involves the crosswalks but the four sidewalks as well with the addition of new patterns and ADA compliant textures.

The picture below shows the final product of the work done at 3rd and State Streets.  That intersection had to be done so the Farmer's Market could happen without a hitch.  While I'm not a fan of the interruption this is having on downtown traffic and pedestrian flow, it will ultimately have a positive impact on Los Altos.  When put in the context of the other construction projects, it's fairly minor.

Some of the other work happening downtown includes the closing of Whitney at Third Street to put in new utility lines.  Last week there was a trenching tool being used to dig up the trench.  The downside is that it's hard to get into the 76 gas station (which is the lowest priced gas in downtown Los Altos) but it makes getting to Draegers a little harder because instead of taking Whitney all the way up to First Street you have to cut through the parking lots.

While some of the construction looks like it's making progress, much of it will continue for a long time.  The buildings under construction will keep contruction trucks and contractors in downtown Los Altos for many months.  In addition to the buildings currently under construction, there are others that haven't started yet including the new condo project on First Street.  It's going to be a long summer!

You can see my most recent past report at Downtown Los Altos Construction Update.

There are great plans to improve downtown Los Altos and the construction is coming along.  One site, on 3rd Street  where an old bank used to be, is being cleared to make way for a new mixed-use building.  I stopped by today to take a photo and show the equipment being used to do the job.  This is one of several construction sites in Los Altos where new buildings are in the process of being built or coming soon.  Those sites include:

• Triangular block of 2nd, Whitney, and San Antonio (new offices)
  
• The corner of Main and San Antonio (new luxury hotel)
• 3rd Street across from the Los Altos Grill (new mixed use development)
• Corner of First and Main (new mixed use development)
• Old post office site on First Street (new condo development)

In addition to the new construction, the town is also revitalizing the entire downtown area with new crosswalks, greenery, and sidewalks.  The new look will update the town to be in line with comtemporary styles in other towns up and down the Peninsula.  This refresh of the walking areas will put a fresh face on work done 20 years ago.  It is hoped that the increased office space (and workers in those offices) and residents in new condos will bolster spending at downtown merchants.  That increase in spending should increase the level of downtown activity enough to support many shops staying open later which is one of the main shortfalls of Los Altos.  The downtown area is a ghost town after 6PM most of the time, with the exception of Farmer's Market nights and other occasions.

There are plans to make major improvements to buildings on State Street as well.  Several buildings were acquired in recent months and a developer is looking at some exciting new businesses and entertainment venues.  Once I have confirmation on those, I'll update this article.  As with most of these new projects, the inspiration for the changes in downtown Los Altos come from destination towns including Los Gatos, Burlingame, and Mountain View.  There is also a desire to incorporate some of the features of Santana Row which has proven to be a wildly successful model community.  Los Altos has a great future ahead.

Downtown Los Altos is at the forefront of major changes to build more offices, retail space, and residential units.  The area with the biggest developments in the near future is First Street.  The entire street was rezoned to allow residential, better retail, and more office space.  However, a recent article in the Los Altos Town Crier brings to light concerns about traffic congestion.

Personally, I'm with most people who feel that having a little traffic congestion is a sign of success.  It's rare that you can't find a spot unless there's a major event.  The loss of so many downtown businesses has made traffic and parking nearly non-existant.  The concerns about major traffic congestion on First Street and Main Street are based in the idea that downtown Los Altos should be a "sleepy little town".  Unfortunately, for the businesses to thrive, we need more people and that often, but not necessarily, means more cars.

Adding 48 condos on First Street will help downtown a little but it won't be enough to drive real growth.  It's a start.  Another 150-200 on top of that would create real critical mass and those residents would be foot traffic, not car traffic.  That's probably why the traffic study didn't show an appreciable increase even with all the new construction.  The question now is, where to add those living units.  The new zoning regulations approved in 2009 will allow for residential units above retail on Main Street.  That would be a huge step in the right direction but those residential units will mostly generate foot traffic.  The homeowners may have cars but with jobs and services right down town, the frequency of car traffic will probably be very low.

A recent article in the Los Altos Town Crier talked about all the changes implemented or started in 2010 that will come to full fruition in 2011 and beyond.  All the changes are designed to modernize the town and make it competitive to other nearby communities.

Los Altos has been a sleepy little town for a long time.  Much to the chagrin of locals, the town has been kept in a state of "Mayberry Syndrome" for decades falling well behind the development of other local towns including Los Gatos, Mountain View, and Burlingame.  The small shops typically close by 6PM, leaving the town nearly empty on most nights.  There is no "critical mass" to the distribution of restaurants so the typical synergy you get with restaurants and shops isn't available.  In 2010, all that small town feel was dismissed in a sweeping series of changes set to make Los Altos a true destination.

I had reported months ago that someone was buying large parts of downtown Los Altos.  Many felt it was a prelude to a developer using the new multi-story zoning laws to rebuild large parts of the downtown to make it more like Santana Row, with residential or office space above retail.  Knocking down several buildings, especially smaller ones, to make way for wider buildings would enable chains to enter the downtown.  While old residents and power brokers have spent years stopping introduction of chains, small chain stores would bring new revenue and foot traffic to an otherwise quiet town.

We also need a little more style and that is coming with the new developments approved in 2010.  Abigail Ahren's new luxury hotel at the corner of San Antonio and Main Streets will make that gateway entrance to Los Altos beautiful instead of just a dusty sandlot.  Other projects include housing and offices along First Street that will transform that area as well.

The activity with new zoning, increased developer activity, and many projects going before the Planning Commission should result in a substantial number of improvements in Los Altos over the next year and into 2012.  All these changes will have a lasting impact by making Los Altos a more desirable destination town.

A lot has been happening in downtown Los Altos in recent months with new construction and an emphasis on major redevelopment of downtown Los Altos into something more than just a sleepy little town.  Someone is buying large sections of downtown Los Altos.  The question is, what for?

I've lived here on and off since the 60s.  In all that time Los Altos seems to have been stuck between two camps; people who want a sleepy little town and those who want something like Santana Row or Los Gatos. The folks who want to keep the "village" feel are against large chain stores coming into town.  The other folks, like me, would like to see the town become something interesting where we have a lively downtown similar to Los Gatos.  The inability to make the change has been landowners downtown who refuse to allow chains.

Well, Los Altos is heading for change - big change.  The zoning has been changed to allow multi-story buildings downtown.  That will make knocking down old buildings in favor of newer ones economically viable.  In addition, the city is moving ahead with plans to make First Street more walkable with wider sidewalks.

 The entity that is buying up Los Altos has purchased buildings on State Street, First Street, and other areas.  Over $40 million has been invested so far and more may be spent.  Is a developer on the way to buying up downtown to make it a vibrant destination like Los Gatos?  I certainly hope so.  I'll be keeping an eye on this topic and talking to my friends in commercial real estate to see where this goes.