Campus looks to expand housing options for faculty, staff

Artist's rendering of the Colonnade apartment complex

Artist’s rendering of the Colonnade apartment complex, which Stanford has leased to help make more rental housing available for faculty and staff. (Image credit: Courtesy of Colonnade)

Responding to the increasingly tight local housing market, Stanford is working to expand options for faculty and staff members to live in close proximity to the main campus.

The university has recently entered into an agreement to lease a 167-unit apartment complex currently under construction near the border of Los Altos, Palo Alto and Mountain View, to help make additional rental housing available for Stanford faculty and staff.

“Throughout its history, Stanford has developed and provided housing to meet the needs of its faculty, staff and students, ideally near the Stanford community,” said Jean Snider, managing director of real estate. “This lease is one of a host of ways we can address what has become a real concern, particularly as we compete to recruit the best faculty from other parts of the country, where they experience very different real estate markets.”

The lease of the Colonnade apartment complex, at the intersection of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road in Los Altos, complements other programs designed to help Stanford employees locate within an easy bicycle or bus ride to the campus.

“It is a very desirable and high-quality residential project that we anticipate will become long-term housing for Stanford affiliates – faculty, staff and possibly academic researchers,” said Jan Thomson, director of Faculty Staff Housing. “Los Altos is already home to many Stanford professors and staff members, who enjoy what they consider a very desirable place to live.”

Colonnade is scheduled to be ready for initial occupancy this spring. Stanford has entered into a long-term lease that will allow it to rent the units to members of the Stanford community. The university does not yet know the complete mix of possible residents for the complex, which could initially also include some renters not affiliated with the university.

The Colonnade complex features 100 one-bedroom and 67 two-bedroom well-appointed apartments in a four-story building with traditional California, tile-roof architecture. Amenities will include a fitness center and spa, rooftop deck, clubroom and ample bicycle parking.

In keeping with Stanford’s priorities to minimize traffic impacts, the Colonnade location is within biking and bus transit distance from the campus. Stanford already operates a Marguerite shuttle service between the campus and the San Antonio shopping area, and will look to increase this service for the benefit of Stanford residents in the area.

Stanford is one of the largest employers in the Silicon Valley, and joins many other major local employers in seeking additional housing options in order to recruit talented workers to the area.

Stanford has been very actively increasing housing on its own land, with 180 homes for faculty members now under development on California Avenue in Palo Alto. Several new dormitory projects to house more than 400 undergraduate and graduate students are now under construction on campus.

The university will maintain a close dialogue with local officials, including the city of Los Altos, as the project progresses and becomes ready for occupancy. The complex will also continue to house planned retail establishments for the community, including a Barre3 exercise studio.

Faculty and staff members interested in the housing opportunity are encouraged to contact Colonnade’s management office at (650) 559-8500.