El Camino Real, The King’s Highway, is a 600-mile commemorative route connecting the 21 Spanish missions in California. Today, many streets throughout the state that either follow or run parallel to the historical route still bear the “El Camino Real” name.
The King’s Highway has undergone a change that even the most optimistic conquistadors never could have imagined.
Welcome to “El Condo Real.”
Every day we deal with an obstacle course of potholes and construction chaos along both sides of El Camino between San Antonio Road and Castro Street in Mountain View. This tidal wave of building projects has gone from condo-minium to condo-maximum.
There are 14 new condos standing or under construction and at least seven tagged buildings/locations ready to be bulldozerized. A condo is an individually owned residential unit in a complex or building of like units – sort of a grown-ups version of Legoland.
I totally understand the demand for additional housing in our community. Silicon Valley is a global magnet of relocation. There is pressure on elected officials to offer affordable livability.
Where is the additional retail and green space to service the new residents coming from? I’m not talking about a few patches of Astroturf with a plastic climbing structure or a few mobile-order, drone-delivered, gluten-free, mini-bite bistros. What about educational facilities and the crush of new students? We see the exciting project underway to expand Los Altos High School. Which other schools are going to need more space? In our pet-friendly community, are we going see condos for canines?
Will they have enough room to romp?
The color of the transactional fluid that flows through the world of real estate development is green. Communities everywhere need to be run as viable businesses. The question is: Every time we call it a community, you call it a business, and every time we call it a business, you call it a community – what is the happy medium in the condominium world?
The Royal Road of Real Estate has taken full root in our once peaceful and non-bumper-to-bumper community. Will we become the Grand Canyon of Condos?
Los Altos resident Andy Dolich is owner of the sports consultancy Dolich & Associates.
