Inside SV's Most Sustainable Development

Hanover Page Mill Associates' James Gaither tells us the 87k SF project in Palo Alto's Stanford Research Park will set a new standard for quality and sustainability in commercial office buildings (here's James with his dad, Jim, who also is involved). James and Jim believe energy efficiency and Net Zero Electric are valuable building attributes in today's market, but will become essential in the future. The project is designed to meet the standards of LEED Platinum and Net Zero Electric from solar.

Here's an updated pic of the construction underway. James' grandfather, Stanley Wells Good Jr., leased the land from Stanford in 1959. His mom remembers going to the job site in 1960 and 1961 to watch the original construction.

The goal is to blur the boundary between indoor and outdoor, with two courtyards and California-adapted landscaping to envelop the building. In late 2013, law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius pre-leased 60k SF inside. Delivery of the core and shell is expected by July 1, and 29k SF is still available. CBRE's Doug Beck and Jim Fletcher are marketing it. James tells us he's got nothing else in the pipeline, as this is "his baby."

The team also includes Point Energy Innovations CEO Peter Rumsey (right), being interviewed by EBS' Matt Macko at Bisnow's recent Construction and Development event (Form 4 Architecture and Devcon Construction rounded out the team). Peter says the Page Mill Road project is a preview of what the norm will be come 2030, when all new commercial construction will be net zero. Tenants are already clued into the performance of a building these days and want to be in green ones—which can lead to premium rates for landlords.

A year after its completion, the downtown San Jose Street Life Plan is in full swing, with murals to pocket parks to art crosswalks being completed and proposed. We caught SJ Downtown Association's Street Life Project Manager, Jason Su, on the phone ahead of his SPUR presentation today to hear more. He says the projects reflect the new development and investment coming, as well as the existing artist, urbanist, and "maker" energy growing. The city's at a point where it's got the community interested in good urban design, and they want to live and eat here. These street projects entice them to stay, explore and discover downtown San Jose, he says.

A mural corner coming to Second and San Carlos, rendered above, will have an elevated aspect to add more visual interest and pedestrian scale to the parking lot. Another in the works along Paseo de San Antonio are art crosswalks, which aims to be playful and whimsical and enhance the pedestrian experience, he says (an RFQ is out for the artist). When developers or the city want to spruce up their property, Jason says the street life plan gives them a menu of ideas they can easily access.

A new panda has recently been completed on First Street. Artist Phuong-Mai Bui-Quang (Mai) of PMBQ Studios reimagined the former beloved panda mural painted by Paul Gonzalez, which fell into disrepair over the years.