Dedicated to Empowering and Informing the Burlingame Community

What’s Blowing at the Post Office?

According to one blogger whose opinion I trust implicitly, this Daily Journal article about the proposed monster project at the original, historic post office is a pretty accurate description of the meeting

The design of a large housing and retail project which some hope will redevelop the former Burlingame post office into a landmark attraction drew criticism from city officials during an initial review session.

Burlingame council members expressed concerns regarding whether the proposal to build 50,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor of the building at 220 Park Road, under 128 condominiums spread across the top four stories would blend with the surrounding character of downtown.

“This isn’t cutting it at all,” said Mayor Ann Keighran. “This isn’t Burlingame.”

The headline called it a "tepid" city response, but it sounds more like a vigorous city council response to me.  Time to get back to the drawing board and respect the surroundings, the historic nature of the building and the whole block and address what we really need downtown–which ain't 100+ units of housing.  As another blogger noted on this earlier post, the fact that Stanley Lo doesn't feel he has any problems finding parking downtown is pretty special.

Post Office back sculpture

Posted in , , , ,

41 responses to “What’s Blowing at the Post Office?”

  1. J

    Do the owners of the former Post Office live in Burlingame or nearby? Or, is this just a pure investment play with a huge ROI as the only objective by owners who live in another country? Will Stanley Lo insist on putting an enormous marble statue of Rhodes straddling the parking lot? Just curious.

  2. Preserve the core emblems

    It’s my understanding that the owners of the Post Office include Stanley Lo, along with a family in Hillsborough and several other investors from China. I could be wrong, but I believe that this is correct.
    The US Postal Service was essentially forced to sell 3,300 post offices across the U.S. due to massive annual losses. Perhaps they’re over-staffed and inefficient, and unlocking their gov’t monopoly to competitors like FedEx and UPS took it’s toll, but to the benefit of overall economic strength for US consumers. The argument for further subsidies to this mostly archaic service is that they are required to serve the most distant and inefficient markets of demand, which no market driven company would cover.
    Their general downsize to 5,000 sf of leased retail makes more sense for everyone.
    Regardless, the US Postal Service sold their property, and they were required by law to sell at the highest market value, which is driven by usefulness and income potential.
    The ROI, cash on cash return and other metrics of investments will be maximized with higher density. Being forced to keep the west façade and the lobby significantly reduces the amount of underground parking and the amount of retail and apartments that can be built.
    Perhaps it’s too late with the sale deed covenant, but demolishing the west façade in favor of more underground parking and ROI, which includes more sales tax and property tax for the local and state gov’t is probably worth it.
    Areas like the lobby often are used for the entrance hall for the apartment buildings, which is how the developer is using the historic firehouse structure near Ralston and El Camino in Belmont, for example.
    Bring back Blockbuster Movies! Those guys totally knew which movies I would like or not like… Change is inevitable. Preserve the core emblems (like the former city hall gable) and re-boot the rest.

  3. fred

    The US Post Office had to sell off assets because it is the only government entity that is required to prefund it’s long term pension and health liabilities. If all government entities federal, state and local had to do this they would be in just as bad or even worse shape than the postal service.

  4. Joe

    To Fred’s very correct point, here is the official view of it:
    https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume
    The Law of Unintended Consequences then kicks in and we are faced with the community problem. But if the ROI isn’t there because rules and historic designations need to be respected, that is the new owners’ problem.

  5. Alex

    There is no chance in hell the developer will be able to preserve the facade and put in 50,000 square feet of retail.
    Forget about 128 units of housing. He cannot physically fit this into envelope without a height and parking amendment.
    Sorry I love change and Burlingame seems to be on the right track – but this is FAR TO DENSE for this neighborhood.

  6. Ditch the west facade.

    Developers always propose the most possible at first.
    My point is…ditch the west facade.

  7. Bruce Dickinson

    Fellas, yesterday I got my real estate guy on the horn and in three minutes, he broke down the details. Let’s just say we may have to nickname our infamous local real estate agent Stanley Buy High Sell Lo. He and his investors paid $15.7 million dollars for the site. With 50,000 square feet of ground floor space and another 100,000 square feet of living space, they will need to cough up another $60 million to $70 million+ dollars just to build the thing (250,000 square feet total for 5 stories!). This thing gets delayed long enough for the China bubble to finish popping and the ensuing financial carnage, you may be seeing a mini-Burlingame version of a half-built and minimally occupied Chinese ghost-city, or ghost-condo, as it were.
    In addition to this being a situation of the “ego writing cheques that the body can’t cash”, it sounds like an uphill battle to get this thing approved, and Bruce Dickinson offers this: $11.5 million to take it off the investors hands. In one year, I almost guarantee you, the price offered will go down. If interested, have your guy call my guy and you know who he is.
    The development as proposed is way too big and will forever change Burlingame, in a not-so-good way. Sounds like the City Council discovered it is a creature with vertebrae, ya know what I mean? Refreshing for a change, I tell ya.
    Also, maybe the sour taste exists because too many may have been burned in real estate transactions that have been called, to put it politely, less than arms-length. In deal-making you reap what you sew over the long haul. You can take that advice right to the Bank of Dickinson, a bank that yes, has not abolished the gold-standard, ya know what I mean?

  8. Jennifer

    Another (big) city, chimes in on more “density” http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/SF-housing-density-plan-meets-opposition-6810769.php?cmpid=gsa-sfgate-result

  9. Cathy Baylock

    No, this is not a Donald Trump political ad, but kudos to the Donald for restoring the landmark U.S. Postal building in Washington D.C., adaptively re-using the building for a boutique hotel…Mr. Wang-lu, are you out there? https://www.trumphotelcollection.com/washington-dc/old-post-office-transformation.php

  10. Keep the best, ditch the rest.

    Adaptive reuse could offer the best of both worlds at the Post Office. As I mentioned a couple years ago, a “Living Roof” with a bar / restaurant on top would be awesome.
    I’d encourage the council to remove the West Facade protection to enable more underground parking and more freedom of design and usefulness, and then cut off the actual West facade, facade and incorporate that into the West wall of the structure instead of being so attached to the bulk of that obsolete building.
    I’m looking forward to the finished construction.

  11. Samiselfie

    Mayor McFrosy Keighran made the evening a Spanish Inquisition with developer.
    May I suggest it’s not what you say but how you say It.
    Please stop being so confrontational and mean with people you disagree with. Theses are your constituents whether you agree/disagree with their point of view. Try a little charm.
    It is going to be a long journey developing the old post office.
    Be a Mayor McFriendly Keighran and you just might get some of the things you want with this project.
    Breathe, exhale and smile. :-).

  12. Bruce Dickinson

    Folks, let’s focus on the facts. Unless my eyeglass prescription is completely wrong, the last time I checked, Keighran won her election by a landslide and got a lot more votes that Whining Wienie (take a guess who that is!)
    Bruce Dickinson thinks that a much more assertive and aggressive posture is needed, and I for one I’m glad that Keighran seems to be the only protecting yours truly’s as well as the majority of Burlingame’s interests and is taking the job very seriously. You don’t get to be the number one vote-getter unless you understand your constituents and represent them honestly and passionately.
    Charm offensives, compromises, appeasement, couched lingo, and diplo-babble only work if you are a salesperson, and believe me, Burlingame doesn’t need to be selling anything. I would suggest to readers also that you shouldn’t be selling Burlingame short, that is, if someone wants to develop here, you make ’em earn it and have those developers crawl to us and show some respect for change! We do NOT want to look like Redwood City, Millbrae, or Diarrhea City, USA and that idea needs to be drilled into their greedy noggins. Pretty soon Bruce Dickinson is gonna take the drumstick and be playing cowbell with developers’ heads!
    I’m hopeful that the new City Council members follow Ms. Keighran’s lead and verbally rough some people up, to show ’em who’s running the show. That’s one thing they apparently don’t teach you at the DeVry School of Diplomacy: diplomacy only works so long as there is a credible threat of force.
    Trust me, in this situation, and I have seen the same principles apply time and again in similar situations at the very upper echelons of success: the last thing you want is an empty suit!
    Less Poodle and more Rottweiler, please. Woof!

  13. Peter Garrison

    Bark!

  14. Cathy Baylock

    Yes. Mr Bruce. You da man!

  15. Samiselfie

    Walk softly and carry a big stick.
    Kill them with kindness.
    Just saying. Meow 😺

  16. the voters barely notice

    Bruce, please meditate on the meaning of “Hubris”…http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hubris
    Your starting to remind us of Donald Trump…what no reference to your Ferrari in your last post?
    Bruce, there’s really so much that you are completely unaware of, really.
    Guess which person was trying to encourage the developers to use her husband’s construction company on the Post Office project?
    Guess where some person’s campaign money came from? I’ll give you a hint, it’s related to construction companies, sometimes, particularly in places like New York City.
    Or, what about the money to provide speeches and consulting services to special interest groups that the person admits to professionally “represent” and that also endorse the person?
    But hey, our state senator Leland Yee got busted and admitted to racketeering and selling rocket launchers. Our fire chief got indicted for major credit card fraud. And, on the national level, it looks like we’ll be choosing between hubris-laden trust fund kid Donald Trump vs. under FBI investigation liars B-illary Clinton.
    With 20-30% voter turn-out typically, we vote in all sorts of frauds…and the voters barely notice between American Idol, Soccer Practices, and People Magazine.

  17. Jennifer

    I’ll agree with you on the last paragraph– the “Proposition” process is completely broken and gets us into much more trouble than it is worth–Tos vs CHSRA hearing goes on today, to cancel issuance of Prop 1 A bonds, as we merrily blog on other issues. How many millions (billions) are going to be lost without a bit of track set, or worse, an abandoned boondoggle project, as those frightening images from Fresno suggest.
    But you are way off the mark, in my mind, to criticize the current mayor, on this issue. Who is minding the farm? She is. Good for her, and good for us. It sure doesn’t sound like ‘special interest’ to me, unless the special interest is the People of Burlingame. This can be a great project, or a disaster project, with many variants in-between. Personally, I’d look at all three wings (minus the sorting room to the south) of the USPO building, rather than two, and build a really magnificent structure above. That structure needs to be the gem and center of attention. It can be multi-storied, and spectacular, but instead, the plans thus far, both from Grosvenor and Wang-Lu have largely disregarded the two wings, that are surely seen as a burden, around which to plan. IN this latest case, what little remains of the USPO is completely overshadowed by a very hulky structure, above.. How sad.
    We, the people (through our local government), have the power to steer this as we feel fit. I shutter to think that a less strident council might be intrigued with the thought of a Cheesecake Factory plopped right in the middle of that property, with 5 stories all around and lollypop trees in planters as “landscaping”. As Mayor Keighran clearly stated, that is NOT Burlingame. Somebody has to say it, and I’m glad she had the guts to.

  18. Cathy Baylock

    And nobody, and I mean NOBODY knows what is going on this town than Jennifer Pfaff. End of discussion “BarelyNoticed Voter”.

  19. In the room

    Jennifer, for sure, I appreciate the long term charm of historic preservation. And, the city council absolutely should challenge developers and get lots of feedback from residents.
    But, unfortunately politicians in our area go unchallenged for years and it emboldens them to act in a manner which is contrary to the public interest. And, beyond the more obvious examples that we can all read in the newspapers, there are a lot of shenanigans that have happened and have even happened in front of me and other writers on this string that blatantly broke ethical and legal boundaries. So, I’m not sure if I blame ignorance or hubris more, but folks no one here is omniscient nor omnipresent. And, it’s our duty to call out our politicians less they grow into the Kings and Queens which my ancestors personally stood up to alongside George Washington.

  20. Bruce Dickinson

    Hey listen little fella, the Jerkstore called…..and guess what? They’re running out of YOU!
    I must laugh, yes chuckle at those who think the Great Dickinson knows nothing about Burlingame, when two of the “Great Dames” of this fine town just resoundingly re-affirmed everything I said. Talk about a baker’s dozen eggs on the face, if ya know what I mean.
    Then again, my people know a lot of people and those people live, work, breathe, eat, and poop in Burlingame, just like yours truly.
    Come to this site with real knowledge and facts, then we’ll start paying attention, because ironically, we are “barely noticing ” anything insightful or credible spewing from such trolls. I swear it sounds like some posters on this site don’t even live in Burlingame, or are just living in a very different version of reality.
    Anyway, back to business. There is a replete record of Keighran fighting for many, many things and not only that, but leading the charge and those who vote all know this and have re-affirmed her platform many times through the voting process. If her husband’s construction company can build a great project, wouldn’t you want that person to actually build it (whose wife will have a large say in the quality of the project at the expense of some profit)…or would you want the Wang Construction Company to build it, with intent of extracting every dollar? Seriously, do I even have to ask these incredibly dumb questions?
    The Common Sense Store called….and guess what?… they don’t need you!

  21. primary resource insight

    Fake “Bruce”,
    I love it! You ARE a classic Californian. Laws and ethics don’t matter one bit to you…and nor do they to the voters. Leland Yee got over 200,000 votes even after getting indicted and withdrawing from the race.
    Birds of a feather, Fake “Bruce”…keep on admiring yourself via your incessant references to your Ferraris…and I’ll keep delivering primary resource insight.

  22. Samiselfie

    Oh I love that imperial Keighrean quote “that is not Burlingame”
    Go ride around town AK. Your “Burlingame” has changed dramatically. Charming house upon house torn down for the monsters. All while you sat on the planning commission and council.

  23. Bruce Dickinson

    Guys, c’mon, let’s be honest with ourselves. Yes, people will have bigger houses and better cars than you (and in some rare cases, even me), but here’s a lesson that will get you farther in life: Envy, of all the sins, is the easily the worst. This is because you can’t have any fun with it at all and it wastes time and causes anger…it’s a total net loss! Don’t spend energy envying others, it won’t be productive at all.
    Just another word of wisdom, from your neighborhood philosopher, Bruce Dickinson!

  24. Peter Garrison

    Good one on envy! True!
    Augustine called envy “a strange sad anger.”

  25. Russ

    Listen, Bruce, I often agree with you, but in this case I think you have jumped to conclusions and sounded the cowbell way too soon.
    First, I attended the meeting regarding the PO and while I agree that our council should expect nothing but the best for Burlingame, it does’t have to come with an accusatory tone.
    The Mayor lead the discussion and set the tone for further discussion. Unfortunately, she and by default, the rest of the council began discussing architectural design. That discussion was premature as the premise of the study session was really to decide whether to trade public land for the public good as it related to this development. IMHO, the city manager and the city atty should have interrupted the Mayor and her colleagues reminding them that the discussion be focused on the land swap, not on the design of the project. Arguably, one might say that you can’t have one discussion without the other, but I would disagree.
    Moreover, Samiselfie, I think is trying to say first, that diplomacy can go along way in these debates and that our little burb is changing at a rapid pace and that the council is seemingly talking out of two sides of their mouths.
    For example, they are concerned with the possibility of losing the charm of Burlingame—”This is not Burlingame,” said the Mayor, yet there are literally dozens and dozens of homes being demolished to build McMansions without barely a peep from any of our leaders.
    Doesn’t have to do with jealousy, just the reality that what was one of the many charms of Burlingame…it’s eclectic housing stock is rapidly disappearing.

  26. in the room

    I definitely admire Russ, and he hit the nail on the head.
    And, some of the existing city council members are amazingly talented to speak out multiple sides of their mouth and their arses.
    It’s tough to represent “preservation” when you also secretly (or not so secretly like having admitted it on video in front of the entire former city council and me) represent the building trades and indirectly support the Grand Boulevard Initiative and the High Speed Rail via unwavering support of the Democratic party and it’s local and state hierarchy.
    It’s tough (for anyone) to represent goodness, fairness and justice when you also accept campaign contributions and take direction from well known local (big time) bad guys behind close doors.
    It’s tough to understand how all of these items/groups/people are related to each other and to this blog topic – until you realize that they are all very related…
    Kudos to Russ for keeping it real.

  27. Beenhereforever

    Ann Keighran doesn’t know the first thing about diplomacy. Never has. Never will. And if you think diplomacy doesn’t matter, you are nuts. Count her votes. Who cares? Doesn’t say anything about the kind of person she is or isn’t.
    Married to a developer and her father was in construction too?!? Take the blinders off, people. She is in it for herself and her cronies. That is all. Not for you or for me.
    And by the way, Jennifer, your post should read “shudders” not “shutters!” Those are what we use as window coverings, you who thinks you are the writer of the century.

  28. Bruce Dickinson

    RRRReeeeeowwww! The fangs show. Listen, discriminating readers such as myself, Bruce Dickinson want to see the bite as well as the bark (or screeching meow). Post some evidence in a cogent, truth seeking format so that all may be “shown the light” as it were. Declarative statements with no support and catty behavior calling out someone’s misspelling (believe me it happens to the best of us) strikes me as petulant envy, particularly targeting a person who has clearly done nothing but positive things for the community…frankly, that doesn’t go far in my book! Actually, it doesn’t even make my book!
    Let’s get into the supported evidence business, fast! Last time some gadfly kept posting stuff so as to completely diminish his/her credibility had to be censured numerous times today that person’s harangues are about as effective as the boy who cried wolf, if ya know what I mean?

  29. in the room

    For the record, I was not censored today, if you were referring to me and my posts.
    My evidence is what I’ve heard with my own ears from Keighran, and what I’ve heard with my own ears from her campaign contributors.
    The video that I referred to was “lost” by one of the existing city council members, when I asked him for a copy a couple years ago.
    I’ve called out these violations numerous times on this blog and on other websites, and I’ve never received any communication from anyone to dispute it.
    Keighran is charismatic, and she’s been directed and groomed by her parents for years (remember the accounts of her parents giving her nods or yeah or nay in city council meetings?).
    What she does is “normal” in their world.
    Still don’t get what I’m talking about?
    It’s funny that “Bruce” wants to distract the readers from the truth.
    Perhaps he’s part of the sham.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sham

  30. Bruce Dickinson

    The Common Sense Store called and guess what? they’re running out of reading comprehension skills!
    To the poster above, I was saying that one of the regular posters was censURED (that is rebuked, reprimanded) so many times with so much mis-information that TODAY no one listens to him/her (that is like boy crying wolf, where boy keeps crying that there’s a wolf so many times that no one listens to him that when an actual wolf is threatening him, no one pays attention). Maybe I should have put a comma before the word “today” but the context of the sentence and the idiomatic expression should have been clear and I didn’t think would be confusing to anyone, that is, until now.
    Listen, getting basic spelling, definitions, context, logic is a pre-requisite, as it were, to making any sort of cogent argument. If one can’t nail the basics, the credibility of the poster is shot, the rest that spews forth is immediately discarded and only garners the response of crickets chirping.
    Enough of Bruce Dickinson’s time is being wasted on elementary school education, if ya know what I mean? Back to the real issues at hand and and let me focus on my beautiful prose, which itself garners many compliments, fans, and page hits, on this site!

  31. pat giorni

    Let’s eat Grandma.
    Let’s eat, Grandma.

  32. Editor

    Please note that speculation on who certain posters are that uses actual local people is being deleted. Similar to the last term of use change after the 2013 election, real locals are not to be invoked.

  33. Peter Garrison

    What about “self-invokation”?
    Existentially yours,
    Peter Garrison

  34. Editor

    Self-invocation is very welcome! Correct spelling is optional.

  35. fred

    Today, everybody in the bay area and beyond is talking about something that is happening in Burlingame. But let’s talk about a fake guy and his fake cars.

  36. Bruce Dickinson

    Oh, by the way, they’re real and they’re SPECTACULAR!!!

  37. Peter Garrison

    Dude- get the play on words? Invoke played into “invokation”; try to keep up.

  38. Joe

    Thank you, Fred. I’ll put a link to the news of which you speak in the appropriate thread.

  39. Bruce Dickinson

    Hey Guys, the Double Digit IQ Store called..and guess what they’re running out of reading comprehension skills, AGAIN!
    To quote the Editor earlier on this post” Please note that speculation on who certain posters are that uses actual local people is being deleted. Similar to the last term of use change after the 2013 election, real locals are not to be invoked.”
    And this little number: “Trust fund kids are a hoot, aren’t they?
    So little fella, looks like you will be cenSURED AGAIN as you just violated the policy yet another time!
    And by the way, they call me “Big D” for more reasons than one, if ya know what I mean!

  40. “The Mayor Of Broadway”

    Some developments can be understated, architecturally remarkable, very useful and job and tax generating for the community.
    Others can be tacky and disappointing.
    I wish the best for the outcome of the Post Office likely “adaptive reuse”.
    I would like to hear the perspective from “The Mayor Of Broadway”, Ross Bruce, on the what the Post Office reuse should look like.
    http://www.burlingamevoice.com/2006/07/the-mayor-of-broadway
    I didn’t know that you were an actor, and liked to do impersonations all the time?
    Very cool. I too have been in a bunch of plays and musicals, and I enjoy watching world-class acting. I found that the key to successful acting was to believe that you actually are the character that you are trying to portray…to completely embody them – during the play.

  41. resident

    I just have to say how abysmal the new post office is. I stood in a line of six or seven people today and could not help but overhear the business of the people at the counter trying to get a passport application in order. If the CIA had recorded everything I heard about this name and that name and who was from where and where they were going when and what the daughters situation were people like Kamala Harris and John McCain would be appalled. But this is just an everyday thing at our shitty little PO. Why do we have to put up with this? We don’t need a bunch more housing downtown. We need a real Post Office.

Leave a Reply

RECENT COMMENTS

RECENT POSTS

CATEGORIES

ABOUT THE VOICE

The Burlingame Voice is dedicated to informing and empowering the Burlingame community.  Our blog is a public forum for the discussion of issues that relate to Burlingame, California.  Opinions posted on the Burlingame Voice are those of the poster and commenter and not necessarily the opinion of the Editorial Board.  Comments are subject to the Terms of Use.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All content subject to Copyright 2003-2026

Discover more from The Burlingame Voice

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading