Apple sends out letters to Cupertino 'neighbors' with updates on Campus 2 construction
Residents living in and around the area of Apple's upcoming Campus 2 in Cupertino are receiving letters from the company updating them on build progress, including road work, utilities and on-site construction, the latter of which is scheduled to start in April.
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While not quite as polished as the informational mailer sent out in April 2013, the latest progress report offers nearby residents a heads-up on what to expect from the site in the coming weeks.
Along with ongoing roadwork and public utilities construction, Apple notes it is planning to begin earthwork on the Campus 2 site in April ahead of a move-in date sometime in late 2016.
In the note, Apple's senior director of real estate and development Dan Whisenhunt mentions a special website set up in partnership with the City of Cupertino that lists current and upcoming events expected to affect road traffic. In addition, a general project schedule shows demolition work and street utility work is slated for completion by the end of the second quarter. On-site earthwork and building construction should start next month.
Apple's letter, dated Mar. 27, 2014, reads:
Click for larger.
While not quite as polished as the informational mailer sent out in April 2013, the latest progress report offers nearby residents a heads-up on what to expect from the site in the coming weeks.
Along with ongoing roadwork and public utilities construction, Apple notes it is planning to begin earthwork on the Campus 2 site in April ahead of a move-in date sometime in late 2016.
In the note, Apple's senior director of real estate and development Dan Whisenhunt mentions a special website set up in partnership with the City of Cupertino that lists current and upcoming events expected to affect road traffic. In addition, a general project schedule shows demolition work and street utility work is slated for completion by the end of the second quarter. On-site earthwork and building construction should start next month.
Apple's letter, dated Mar. 27, 2014, reads:
Apple won final approval of its Campus 2 plans, which were first unveiled in 2011 by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, in November. The large circular main structure that some have taken to calling the "spaceship" will house some 12,000 employees, while secondary buildings will accommodate meeting and presentation space.Dear Neighbor:
I wanted to update you on construction activities for Apple Campus 2. We are now wrapping up demolition of the old buildings on site as well as public utility relocation and roadway construction along Tantau Avenue and Homestead Road. We ran into some unforeseen underground conditions the delayed the utility relocation process, however we expect this work to be completed in the next few weeks.
I also wanted to let you know that, as Homestead and Tantau are reopened, Pruneridge Avenue will then be closed. We currently anticipate the Pruneridge closure by mid April, but it may be as early as April 4th if the weather holds. Please continue to monitor construction signage in the area for the specific day Homestead and Tantau will re-open Pruneridge and will close.
We expect additional work on portions of Tantau and Homestead in April and will continue public utility work on Wolf eRoad through the spring and early summer of this year. Once the utility work in the public streets is complete we expect less construction disruption as the vast majority of work will be directly on the project site. We are planning to commence earthwork and construction activity on site in April and currently anticipate occupancy in late 2016.
The City of Cupertino has established the Apple Campus 2 Construction Update webpage at www.cupertino.org/appleconstruction. The webpage provides information on vehicular, bike and pedestrian routes lane closure, construction timelines for various activities and other information. The website is updated each Friday so you can visit the website to learn about upcoming construction work.
As always please feel free to contact us if you should have questions or concerns.
Comments
Its the american way.
I think this building and grounds will prove as important to Apple as the iWatch. Given the plans, attention to detail and the beautiful and hugely ambitious design I in a way think of this building as an Apple product. It will be certainly have pro PR repercussions, make Apple a more inspirational and enjoyable place to work for employees and make putting on Apple events great for Apple amazing for the media and the viewer. The only annoying thing for an Apple fan and for employees is having to wait 2.5 more years to see the results.
That is horrible stationery. They must have printed a truckload of that back in the nineties. I guess they figured why waste any of their good letterhead on this token gesture.
Now the lawsuits will begin...
Nope. That would have happened long ago and the lawsuit would have been against the local government or community board. While I'm sure there's a few disgruntled people who would prefer that either Apple wasn't there at all or that they weren't building a new campus, large swaths of the local population either work for Apple or benefit financially from Apple being there.
I'm sure there are some residents concerned about increased traffic on their streets, but it's not like the new Apple campus was formerly a park or housing. It was a corporate site, if one that hasn't been used since HP moved out. On the other hand, if any local resident (one whose home adjoins the campus) is upset, I'm sure they can sell their home for a great deal of money to a well-paid Apple exec who wants to be very close to their future workplace.
My biggest concern if I lived there locally would be if my real-estate taxes rose simply by virtue of Apple being nearby.
If your taxes go up then so does your home value, increasing your net worth.
Proposition 13 = maximum tax of 1% of property value and cannot increase more than 2% per year.
If your taxes go up then so does your home value, increasing your net worth.
Proposition 13 = maximum tax of 1% of property value and cannot increase more than 2% per year.
My increased net worth means nothing unless I want to borrow against the equity. Net worth is just a number on a piece of paper. There are plenty of cash-poor people with high net worth, if they've owned their house for decades.
This is a big problem throughout the country, especially in places which have become "gentrified". I could be living in a lousy neighborhood because it's all I can afford. I own my home (or apartment). Squeezed out of far richer neighborhoods, the hipsters start moving in. They improve the neighborhood - restaurants and clubs open, services come back, but home prices skyrocket, especially after some developers come in and build new condos that sell for $1500/sq ft. As a result, my real-estate taxes skyrocket, but my personal income hasn't changed one iota.
I can afford my mortgage and maintenance, but now I can't afford the real-estate taxes (or the increased prices at the chains and hipster businesses that have moved in) and have to sell and get out.
Prop 13 is fine, but it only applies in CA, right? My taxes are far higher than 1% of property value.
Last time I checked Cupertino was still in California.
Edit: Sorry I forgot to mention that California has earthquakes, wildfires, drought, really high cost of living, crime, illegal aliens, and too much traffic. You really don't want to move there (here).
Wouldn't that be the case regardless because Apple is already nearby and has been for a couple decades? Remember that HP used to be there so wouldn't Apple + HP* be even more "nearby" had HP's HW remained?
* Not the iPod.
My biggest concern if I lived there locally would be if my real-estate taxes rose simply by virtue of Apple being nearby.
Apple has been there for 30 years...
You don't think the city noticed it until now?
"Hey, aren't they doing that big campus thing from that iPhone company?
Maybe we should raise the real estate taxes in that area..."
Apple has been there for 30 years...
You don't think the city noticed it until now?
"Hey, aren't they doing that big campus thing from that iPhone company?
Maybe we should raise the real estate taxes in that area..."
You're missing the point. IMO, houses immediately in the vicinity of the new campus will be in great demand. That will raise prices. Rising values will increase property values, which in return, will increase real-estate taxes (although as someone else stated, no more than 2% per year).
Sure but in that vicinity, the homes are already upwards of a couple million dollars. I don't think those millionaires are strapped for cash. If you are on a fixed income or whatever you are not living in Cupertino. The side of the freeway that the Campus 2 will be is more like Sunnyvale or Santa Clara, but the closer you get to Cupertino you start getting into the million dollar plus homes. The areas further away from Cupertino are a more reasonable $6-800K but even then you won't see anybody making less than $150K salary living there. There are probably a lot of homes for rent around there and those prices are continuing to rise but it is not hurting the property owners.
Sounds a lot like cut power, or telephone cables. Supposed to call before you dig. Costs to restore service are billed to the construction company that caused the outage.
More likely is some sort of issue with rerouting utilities due to water. Calabazas Creek runs through the property, probably underground.
You can see evidence of the creek in satellite imagery from map sites (Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, etc.). There's even a Creekside Park just south of I-280.
A simple errant cut of phone lines would not result in such a protracted delay.
The areas further away from Cupertino are a more reasonable $6-800K but even then you won't see anybody making less than $150K salary living there. There are probably a lot of homes for rent around there and those prices are continuing to rise but it is not hurting the property owners.
Please let me know where $600K houses are within 10 miles of Cupertino. I will buy ten of them and flip them for fifteen to twenty million.
Please let me know where $600K houses are within 10 miles of Cupertino. I will buy ten of them and flip them for fifteen to twenty million.
As I mentioned, a little further away you'll find more reasonable prices. I did not specify anything about 10 miles, but it might be within that distance from the Campus 2 site since it is at the extreme north of Cupertino and a lot closer to Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. I used the website zillow.com for the estimate. They tend to be a little on the low side but you can check it out for yourself.
Point out a property. I'd like to see a "nearby" $600K house. You said "house" which refers to a single-family dwelling.
The market value for my nondescript 1BD condo in a neighboring town is around $425K. Cash, with multiple offers. It's 700 sq. feet and the HOA dues are approaching $400/mo.
I sincerely would like to know what planet you are living on. I need to be there, if only to flip Silicon Valley real estate. If I lived in your dreamworld, I wouldn't need a job.
Point out a property. I'd like to see a "nearby" $600K house. You said "house" which refers to a single-family dwelling.
I said home not house. Sorry perhaps that was misleading. I did not investigate the details of each property, just looked at the list. That is the way realtors speak. A home is anything you can buy rather than lease. I'm not a realtor. Just go to zillow and look at the same information I used to make an estimate.
I don't need to go to Zillow (although I have their app on my iPad). The brokers plaster my front door and mailbox with flyers telling me how much my unit is worth by advertising a unit for sale in the same complex. I don't even need to bother looking at a comparable unit in my complex that's for sale.
$600K property doesn't even show up in the local newspaper real estate sections because it's usually in contract by the time the ad runs.
MLS listings are a joke around here anyhow. A $600K property around here would have multiple offers with contingencies waived.
Residential agents around here make no effort in courting buyers. Agents want listings because they will get top dollar with minimal effort. This is a seller's market.