SFGate features Bay Meadows as Model Development

Stanford Journalism School’s data-driven, multi-media news hub the Peninsula Press recently published an in-depth story on innovative solutions to the housing crisis in the suburbs. The story was accompanied by a video and held up Bay Meadows as a prime example of successful “transit-oriented development.” The Peninsula Press has a relationship with SFGate, which picked up the story for its blog, as well.

In addition to interviewing Wilson Meany’s Janice Thacher, the reporter featured Bay Meadows resident Karen Luo who proclaims at the start of the video, “I don’t rely on a car at all.”

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“Amid Bay Area housing crunch, support grows for transit-oriented development”
by Jeff Barrera, Peninsula Press

Step off of Caltrain at the Hillsdale station, and you’ll find a flurry of activity. Train riders make the short walk home to a group of newly built condominiums and townhouses. Construction crews bolt glass panels onto a row of half-finished office buildings next to the train tracks. Parents play with their kids in a park nestled between four-story apartment complexes.

This is the Bay Meadows development, and it may represent the future of Silicon Valley. In response to skyrocketing rents and gridlocked freeways, a group of policy experts, developers and residents is pushing to transform downtowns and major thoroughfares along the Peninsula into transit-oriented projects like Bay Meadows.

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It’s a modern take on how cities used to be designed: walkable communities of multi-story buildings, often with shops on the ground floor and apartments or office spaces above, clustered around Caltrain stations and other transit hubs. The goal is to add much-needed new housing in a way that encourages sustainable alternatives to driving.

In a region built around car-oriented suburban neighborhoods, the approach is a big — and often controversial — shift. Still, supporters say transit-centered development is the best way to accommodate the region’s population boom while keeping cars off congested roads and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Read the full story here >

New construction, luxury apartment living is now available in San Mateo. Located within commuting distance to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, with easy access to downtown San Mateo and Redwood City via Caltrain, Field House at Bay Meadows is the perfect place to live and play. Fantastic amenities include a fitness center, pool, club room with chef’s kitchen, barbeques, and an outdoor fireplace. Learn more about leasing a flat or townhome here.