Live GreenWork Green

The Live Oak Development

Market and Feasibility Joint Venture StudyPrepared by

Melanie Patton-ImaniShapeshifter Development

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Best and Highest Use: Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Location Location Location: At the Intersection of Work and Life

Project Overview

Demographics/Target Market Intersections

Green Consumer =

Transportation +

Technology +

Education +

Gender +

Apartment Rental Market Trends: Existing Competition

Outlook Apartments

Westmont Place Townhomes

Pacific Apartments

Hidden Creek Apartments

Cormorant Court Apartments

Swan Lake Gardens

Corinthian Townhomes

Walnut Commons

Artspace Tannery Lofts

NextSpace

The Live Oak Site Analysis

Imagine waking up to the ocean breeze blowing through the window, picking up a scone and

some coffee at the bakery on the first floor of the building, and walking two blocks to the bike

trails along Schwan Lagoon, on your way to a morning at the beach. Perhaps after your walk,

you grab your laptop and join other Live Oak and Santa Cruz residents in the live-work space on

the first floor of the multi-use building. Rather than commuting to your job “over the hill” in

Silicon Valley, you join other tech workers, consultants, writers, artists, and independent

working people in the “collaborative community workspace.” When your family needs you they

come downstairs. When you need a break you walk to the beach and hit the waves or bike

along the coast. If it’s a Sunday you might walk the two blocks to the year-round Live Oak

Farmer’s Market and pick up some locally grown organic fruits and veggies, while you listen to

live music and check out the local art scene. You might take your family to the boardwalk for a

few rides, walk down the 100 year old wharf, watch the sea lions, and have a gelato while you

watch the sun set on the western horizon. This is living green and working green in Live Oak.

Like the Coast Live Oak trees that give the community its name, this “acorn”—this development

vision--will grow into a solid and lasting contributor to the Live Oak, Santa Cruz community, as

the city revitalizes coastal business development, works to expand technology business

ventures, and manifests the community’s vision of green, sustainable multi-use development.

Santa Cruz sits at the edge of the western horizon, where ancient-redwood-

forested mountains meet the ocean, technological innovation meets progressive

community values, and free-thinking people integrate meaningful work with

conscious green living. While Santa Cruz caps the northern edge of Monterey

Bay, it’s location “over the hill” from Silicon Valley defines it functionally as the

southern edge of the San Francisco Bay area. Oakland, San Jose and San

Francisco are 8, 3 and 2, respectively, on Kiplinger’s list of the top ten most

expensive places to live. Santa Cruz has always been a unique blend of college

town, summer resort town, and laid-back Northern California beach

community, but an increased demand for affordable housing for those working

in Silicon Valley has pushed tech workers toward Santa Cruz and Live Oak with

the added enticements of beach culture and community. Live Oak is a 3.2

square mile census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County. While there

is no official downtown area, there are a number of businesses along 17th Ave

including several schools, the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange Hall, the Fire

Department, a Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department, the Family Swim

Introduction

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Best and Highest Use: Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Santa Cruz has a population of 60,000.

University of California, Santa Cruz is the largest employer.

Educated workforce = “green” consumers who value “healthy” lifestyles

Quality of life is the reason most cited for why people live in Santa Cruz.

An estimated 20-40,000 SC workers commute to Silicon Valley.

Commuting has its costs: gas consumption, time loss, wear and tear on roads

and cars, accidents, and pollution, among others.

The City of Santa Cruz is increasing support for tech companies as part of its

revitalization efforts surrounding the 100 year anniversary of the wharf.

Santa Cruz is considered the birthplace of sustainable, “green” architecture, and

city planning supports these community commitments.

The live-work model embodies the values of Northern California “techie

culture” that Santa Cruz seeks to foster.

Live Oak, an independent census track within Santa Cruz, provides ALL the

amenities necessary for a multi-use live-work development: beach, community

center with pool, tennis, basketball, bike trails, a coffee house, fitness center,

and restaurants.

Two strip malls across the street provide added opportunity for tech expansion.

Vacancy rates. , sf…

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