Why comment? Who cares?

Feb 4th-7th booked solid already. Nearly $1000 per night.

Now that he has turned his attention to Palo Alto from Malibu I am surprised
he didn't buy the Varsity Theatre to keep SAP out of there and their strategic high profile HANA sign on the marquee on University Ave and their accelerator space, right in Ellison's own backyard.

Ludicrous prices. I feel bad for the people who were displaced. Since this most recent bubble has blown up, no one seems to care much about those who are less fortunate.

Still cheaper than a room at the hospital.

Few will remember that when Mr. Kulakoff got a high density Planned Community zone on this property for affordable elderly housing. He named it Casa Olga after his mother. Now the senior housing has become a luxury hotel and where are the benefits of that original Planned Community zone? Developers just have to wait long enough for staff to turn over and the rest of us to forget and then boom, another densification.

@musical: Why is the Feb 4th-7th booked solid already? Is something special going on at that time?

Another issue with respect to the conversion to a luxury hotel was the
parking requirement. I still can't figure out how much was paid to
the Downtown Parking Assessment District?

Note to Curious:

1st weekend of Feb, 2016.
Web Link

Feb 7, 2016 Super Bowl 50 !
www.levisstadium.com/events/event/super-bowl-50/

Should be a busy time in the Valley !
I assume this is why the hotel is booked solid then :)

@Curious: I'm thinking it's because of Super Bowl that weekend.

@Emily Renzel

"Now the senior housing has become a luxury hotel and where are the benefits of that original Planned Community zone?"

Really good question. If that project had been developed and owned by a non-profit agency like PAHC, Eden Housing or Midpeninsula Housing would it have been permanently sustained as affordable housing for seniors and disabled persons? According to TheRegistry, a SF online real estate news outlet, Casa Olga served about 9,000 seniors and disabled persons over about 35 years before it shut down and was sold to become a luxury hotel. What were the conditions for receiving the PC zoning variances?

I do not remember all the details of the Casa Olga Planned Community approval, but I believe there was a height exemption, parking exemption and perhaps more units than would otherwise have been allowed. It was believed at that time, and partially true, that seniors didn't have as many cars as the general population, and of course, more units would in theory make each unit more affordable.

Don't forget that Casa Olga was losing money at an unsustainable rate.

What's remarkable is that Big Larry has stuck with seeing through his various environmental projects.

"the senior housing has become a luxury hotel and where are the benefits of that original Planned Community zone?"

A PC that fulfills its public benefits is a unique and very bad example. Can't have those laying around, giving our citizens expectations for the others. No wonder our developers drove such big nails into Casa Olga's coffin.

Mere pocket change for old Larry!

"Don't forget that Casa Olga was losing money at an unsustainable rate. "

Here is an "epiphany" for you: caring about elderly, sick, and underprivileged always means loosing money. That is why they call it "caring", "charity", and such.

This is where we live ... Got old and/or sick (if you are not Larry, of course) - crawl in the hall and die.
Congratulations. I hope you do not need a little care when you are old and sick.

Ellison has enough money to give about $156 to every man, woman and child in the U.S.

Or $42 after taxes.

What kind of town or country, for that matter, have we become, when the elderly, sick and disabled have to live in fear of being evicted from their modest homes with the possibly of nowhere else to go. The building is then sold and becomes a luxury hotel for the beyond rich fun and games and then some multi-billionaire dude buys it for "pocket change" for even further profit. So much for "making the world a better place" and "giving back to the community". Another thing, what's with the name "Epiphany" as if and why do the developers, in a rather self-serving way, claim for themselves a beloved public icon, the tall Landmark Redwood tree, EL Palo Alto and stamp it on their building? The real tree is not that far away and you can even read a musty old plaque there, which actually pays respect for it's founding.

You're looking at it the wrong way. Ellison just ADDED $71.6M to the local community. Now ask what the seller plans to do with all that new money. Probably pay off all the loans, which are financed by the funds that ordinary people have been putting away for retirement. All the rich fun and games are pouring 14% TOT directly into Palo Alto's coffers every single day. Are we as a City spending it wisely?

I did not realize that Palo Alto had a $1000/night hotel.
The city is well on its way to becoming Manhattan with good weather, minus any cultural advantages (other than the House of Foam).
I agree the hotel tax revenue is important (especially given California's idiotic income and property tax system).

__What kind of town or country, for that matter, have we become, when the elderly, sick and disabled have to live in fear of being evicted from their modest homes with the possibly of nowhere else to go__

A Republican Utopia.

Maybe emily Renzel can clarify this…..I believe one of the problems with PCs is that the public benefit is not for
perpetuity, but something like 25-30 years. This make the public benefit years far fewer than the life of the building.
Is it possible that the public benefit that provided care for the elderly simply ran out?

if in the end we retain Pc's the benefit should run with the life of the building.

Let's look at a recent example, the PC (Planned Community) Maybell/Clemo proposal for 60-units of low-income senior housing . The public benefit offered was the affordable housing. If I understand correctly, that would have been locked in for 55 years, and even at that point it could only be changed to market rate if there was no longer a need for affordable housing for seniors in Palo Alto.

There were lots of problems with the project, but the legitimacy of the public benefit offered was not one of them.

@ Welcome: No need to get personal.

I was merely pointing out a fact - that (unfortunately) Casa Olga went out of business because it could not receive enough (or timely) payments/reimbursements (from the state) to cover its costs. See the following article (link):

Web Link

from you: "Here is an "epiphany" for you: caring about elderly, sick, and underprivileged always means loosing money. That is why they call it "caring", "charity", and such."

Casa Olga was not a charity organization - it was a family business and it solely relied upon state reimbursements to stay open. The family did not ask for or depend upon charitable donations and, chose to close the operation on their own.

You should do a little research before throwing your next stone.