printable versionWebsite launched for Olmsted Terrace
Eligible faculty and senior staff will be invited to submit an online "expression of interest" in buying Olmsted Terrace houses starting at 8 a.m. on Nov. 2.
Artist rendering of homes at Olmsted Terrace
Olmsted Terrace, the new neighborhood rising on the east side of campus along Stanford Avenue, now has its own website, which describes the styles and amenities of the future homes, and the criteria the university will use to choose buyers.
The purchase of a home at Olmsted Terrace is limited to eligible faculty and senior staff who qualify to buy a home on campus, under the guidelines described in Stanford's Housing Programs Eligibility Criteria.
Eligible faculty and staff will be invited to submit an online "expression of interest" in buying an Olmsted Terrace home starting at 8 a.m. (PST) on Nov 2. On that date, a form will appear on the website for potential buyers to complete and submit.
Eligible buyers who request to be added to the Interest List will be assigned to priority categories based on their faculty or staff position and previous home ownership, and within each priority category, by the date and time the request was received.
Homes will only be offered to those on the interest list in priority order.
For example, a faculty member in category 1A – "Eligible Academic Council faculty who have never owned a home (either a condominium or a single-family home) in the qualifying area" – will always have a priority over any other category, according to the website, which was created by the Office of Faculty Staff Housing.
There are nine categories for the Olmsted Terrace homes: 1A, 1B and 1C for faculty; 2A, 2B and 2C for eligible Medical Center Line Professoriate; and 2D, 2E and 2F for eligible senior staff.
The 39 two-story homes of Olmsted Terrace will reflect the variety of architectural styles found throughout historic Palo Alto, including Traditional, Bay Area Bungalow, Historic California, Classic Craftsman and European Cottage.
All the homes have special features designed with faculty in mind, including a private study wired to the university's communications network, a "great room" that maximizes natural light, a private outdoor living area and a "tech center" for a secondary workspace. Each home will have a two-car garage with extra storage and space for bicycles, and one designated guest parking space.
The floor plans range from three to four bedrooms, and offer 1,930 to 2,340 square feet of living space. The homes are being built on a narrow parcel of land located along Stanford Avenue, between El Camino Real and Escondido Road. The total cost of the project is $28.6 million.
Tiffany Griego, the project manager for Olmsted Terrace, said the university has completed a new storm drain system for the site. Crews recently began phase two of the project: installing wet and dry utilities (water, sewer services, power, gas and data/cable services) and building sidewalks along Olmsted Road and Stanford Avenue.
A model home is expected to be open to the public in April.
The prices for the homes, which will be available in spring of 2010, will be based on the prices of comparable homes available in the marketplace, adjusted for the restrictions in the ground lease. "As a result, the homes will be affordable for our academic community," the website said.
The houses are being built on a rolling production schedule; the first four homes are expected to be completed next summer. The project is expected to be finished by February 2011.