The Burlingame Voice

Boxes of news or... of nothing

I love the hardcopy Daily Journal and Daily Post.  I search them out so much that my wife makes fun of me for it.  In B'game the DJ is easy to find, the Post not so much.  I won't reveal the few boxes in town where the Post can often be found.  Down in Palo Alto, the powers that be want to get rid of newspaper boxes on University Ave. in an effort to "beautify" the main shopping district.  The Post runs the ad below highlighting the threat to the First Amendment.

The ad notes that Palo Alto already has a municipal code allowing the removal of unused boxes and there in is the rub in Palo Alto; and here in B'game.  I don't know if we have a similar code on the books, but I do know it's not being enforced.  Check out the line-up of boxes on Primrose.  A couple Epoch Times' boxes around town occasionally have the paper, but not this one that has no coin slot.  The beat-up maroon one next to it never has anything but trash and a lonely phone book or two.  It has siblings all over town in the same condition.  The red one might have been an SF Examiner box at one point, but Examiner boxes all over town have been empty for years.  This DJ box is filled daily as are all of them in B'game.  Thank you, guys, gold star!  This Post box hardly ever gets filled.  And there are other Post boxes in B'game that never get papers.  I don't think the City should be responsible for removing them--the companies should, unless they are out of business.  Then the City should take them to the trash heap.  Let's beautify B'game, one boxectomy at a time.  Candidates clutter the sidewalks across from Mints & Honey, in front of the Capuchino post office, along California Dr., and Mollie's sidewalk.  I could go on.

P.S.  How funny is it to have three mailboxes lined up literally across the street from our sad little post office?  I bet they are a vestige of when we had the beautiful post office on Park Rd.  Let's yank two of those as well.

The New Old Post Office is coming along

Now that the construction fencing is down around the new old Post Office, the renovations are starting to sparkle, especially at night.  I have it from a reliable source that the interior polishing is a good as what we see on the exterior.  It's been about two and a half years since groundbreaking which seems quick given how other project bog down.  Here's the old new door into what will be the new restaurant.

Postal Service upgrades to Dodge Rams

I'm going to miss the little putt-putt right-hand drive USPS vehicles that have been around forever.  You may have noticed the new Dodge Ram vans driving around town--so new that they don't have plates yet--or is the Postal Service immune from the DMV?  The Rams are not getting rave reviews from the carriers.  They are designed more for Amazon or UPS package delivery than regular mail and are harder to enter and exit.  I'm sure the tailpipe emissions are better, but I'll miss that little putt-putt noise that told me my mail has arrived.

Searching around for the background of the old trucks, I discovered the larger ones are known as Grumman LLVs.  LLV stands for long life vehicle.  They have a GM Iron Duke 4 cylinder.  They replaced some of the prior Jeep DJ's around 1987, but I have also seen some of the really old Jeeps around B'game recently.  If you want one the GSA auction site is here.

For nostalgic reasons five years from now, here is one of the "old" trucks spotted on ECR recently

220 Park: "We missed a spot"?

Earlier this week I was struck by how high up a concrete feed can be hoisted.  The workers at 220 Park have extended the hose from the concrete truck nearly to the top of the building.  I was left to wonder "Did they miss a spot months ago?"

220 Park rises above downtown

We last documented the construction of the 220 Park Rd. (i.e. the old Post Office) building last August.  Even with a brutal rainy season, progress continued, and we now have an outline of what the final envelop will be.  As one of my buddies who followed the planning said before the ground-breaking, "people are going to be surprised at how big this will be."  He's right.  Here's the view of the backside--looking down Lorton Ave.  What was once open space with views of the mountains to the west from the restaurant row will now be glass and steel.  The third-floor terrace has taken shape as well, but will be in shadows most of the day.

  

My, what a big crane you have

We last checked in on the Old Post Office project downtown (aka the Sares-Regis project) here.  We are about eleven months after the groundbreaking ceremony and the Big Dig phase is over.  This week an enormous construction crane was put in place.  I was struck, metaphorically speaking, with how it towers over downtown.  One of my regular downtown contacts told me that I missed the wild scene as the workers walked along the "arms" out to the end to put the counterweights in place on the short side (the left side in the photo).  Unfortunately, I took the photo before I heard about the daring feat and the counterweights are perfectly hidden by the traffic light below.  Does anyone think this will be the last big crane we see downtown?

220 Park Rd: From Post Office to Class A Space

Wednesday was the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Old Post Office property; now dubbed "220 Park Rd."  About 50-75 people turned out to hear some speeches, tour the historic lobby that is undergoing asbestos removal and watch The Claw take the first bite out of the old garage.  The long saga documented here, here and here is moving into the final chapter.  There seems to be consensus among the cognoscenti that this is the best design B'game could hope for-- it is certainly better than the last proposal.

The lobby will be partially preserved in the sense that it will be modified with three doorways where the large windows are now.  The plan is to pick up the poured concrete structure, turn it slightly and move it 100' towards the Avenew, put it on piers and move it back near the end of the project (projected to be March 2024).  We'll keep an eye out for the date since that will be a bring-your-popcorn event.  There will be underground parking and the Town Square will feature amphitheater-style seating for concerts and the like.  The Daily Journal has some of the details

The ground floor, including a portion of the existing post office, will comprise 15,000 square feet of retail and dining space. Office space above will feature terraces at each level and larger patios on the third and sixth floors. The two-level underground parking garage will have room for 275 cars and be open to the public on weekends and evenings.

Construction of the project will be handled by Sares Regis Group and Dostart Development Company, which will provide $2 million to the city for the town square development, as well as an additional $3.5 million in assorted fees to go toward affordable housing in Burlingame.

Click through if you are a subscriber so you can see the photo of Yours Truly in my chapeau and shorts along with my lovely bride in the left background.  Here is Dave Hopkins of Sares Regis, the Claw doing its thing and the official groundbreaking line-up.

Park it, Mack

The first phase of the new downtown parking structure is open for biz about 11 months after we discussed it here.  The ground floor has been offering free, try-before-you-buy parking for a couple of weeks, but that is now over.  It should relieve a little of the pressure from parklets and construction, especially at the old post office where today is groundbreaking day.  Here's the view of the ground floor--full-- except for the EV spots which were......empty.  I think they will be more successful than the spots near Broadway which shouldn't be hard to accomplish.

An eagle-eyed reader forwarded this photo of the rooftop parking and noted the absence of the concrete "wheel blocks" in front of the cable railing that appears a bit flimsy.  We've seen a few instances of drivers thinking they were in reverse when they weren't or hitting the gas instead of the brake, so the wheel blocks seem like a good idea here.

Post Office Approval: Done Deal

Back in February of 2012 we asked "Whither the Post Office?" when USPS announced plans to sell the main post office.  A lot of water has since flowed "under the bridge" and through the underground culvert that runs next to the old post office.  It sold, then sold again, and the latest owner, Sares Regis, has worked diligently on plans with the city to get to the approval it just received.  The DJ reports

The Burlingame City Council unanimously voted in favor Monday, Feb. 1, of a development agreement with Sares Regis to convert the shuttered facility at 220 Park Road into a six-story commercial tower, expected to become the city’s tallest building.  The office building is proposed to be six stories, with five floors of office space built over a ground floor of retail and dining space.

The site is adjacent to city property where a surface parking lot is expected to be reconstructed into a new community gathering hub officials imagine to be similar to Courthouse Square in Redwood City.

We've worried about the building itself tucked behind fencing for nine years with potential maintenance issues that inevitably accrue to any building of any age.  The marble-clad lobby seen here is a gem and will make for a great retail or restaurant space.  And the "town square" will be a welcome addition particularly if it can successfully host some much-needed entertainment in town.  It will certainly get more use than the lawn ever did.

Parking should be OK given the giant new parking structure that many residents are gazing up at--some shaking their heads at the size and the shadow it casts.  Along with the Village at Burlingame, 220 California, the Bayswater development at the old Hower Auto site and now the Saris Regis project, one wonders if it is time to take a breather?  Perhaps we should see how this all plays out for awhile?

P.S. I kind of like the juxtaposition of the approval headline with the San Mateo downtown vacancy headline

Post Office Progress

With new ownership that has more experience and seemingly more sensitivity to local needs, the Old Post Office project is moving forward.  We noted the historic nature of the original building and the restrictions that brings way back in 2013 here.  Disappointment with the prior owners' designs in 2016 can be found here.  A sympathetic design is a definite improvement as the Daily Journal is noting.  Although the "Future of Work" is raising concerns about more office space.

The Burlingame Planning Commission unanimously endorsed variances sought by developer Sares Regis, which is proposing to rebuild the vacant, central site at 220 Park Road into a commercial tower planned to be the city’s tallest building.   “I’m not opposed to the project, but it just raises a little bit of concern for me because there is empty office space in town,” said Commissioner Michael Gaul, nodding to similar perspectives shared by a resident critical of the project.

With an anticipation that like-minded critics will continue coming forward as the project moves through the public planning process, Gaul said he supports the plans while harboring some uncertainty that there is sufficient demand to fill the space.  Sares Regis executive Andrew Turco agreed, reinforcing his firm’s proposal to construct the 98-foot building. Noting the site’s central, downtown location and proximity to the Caltrain stop, Turco shared confidence there would be sufficient interest to occupy the building.

I think Mr. Turco is mostly correct.  Prospective tenants will like the location for the reasons we all like the location and people will eventually filter back into offices.  The real question is will the numbers pencil out after the changes to square footage per employee (larger), much better air handling and whatever else comes along with a return to offices.  In the meantime, the discussions about the public square adjacent to the project continue.  The desolate, forlorn, fenced-in look in the center of town isn't to anyone's liking.