RES 01063 - Laserfiche WebLink

restaurant fries to market to families and to bar patrons, it sends a mixed message and the restaurant will fail. People cannot be smoking and drinking in one room and people coming in with children in another. The psychology of restaurant operations is unique. She tried to market this property several years ago and asked for information from the developer and broker which was never provided. This is a choice building and normally she did not think it should be destroyed, however, there is a tenant which is already in Pleasanton. There are lots of tenants in the Bay Area who want to come to Pleasanton and could use this site, but Morgan Stanley Dean Witter would be good for this site: She believed they service people who work and live here and will not contribute to traffic. She felt Claim Jumper did not take the site because the owner was asking too much for the lease. Developers usually don't want restaurants as tenants because half of all restaurants fall. Restaurateurs do not think like the average business person; it is more of an emotional enterprise. Pat Murray, 4470 Mirador Drive, said she found it hard to believe that without the West Las Positas interchange that this building would reduce traffic on the Stoneridge interchange. There are 36 employees that will be on and off Stoneridge Drive. She believed Pleasanton will soon be over-built with office space. There are office buildings now under construction with tenants hacking out of commitments. Dublin also has many companies that have decided not to move in. She cited various other locations with empty office space. She believed there is competition with Dublin and its off~ce space is less expensive than Pleasanton. In the 1980's, Hacienda Business Park had difficulty getting tenants and some commercial property was converted to residential. Fortunately, the economy turned around and Hacienda and Pteasanton became very successful. She asked about other tenants for the proposed office building. With more tenants there will be more traffic. She wanted to know how many offices would be in the building. With regard to the previous restaurant, she believed there were a lot of management problems with the original operation and believed that is why it failed. She felt the reason other restaurants have not occupied the space was due to the cost. Mr. Graeser believed his office building is different than the examples cited by other speakers. PeopleSoft and Schwab are companies that each use over 100,000 square feet of office space. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter needs 10,000 square feet. This building provides small spaces for three or four tenants. If there is a downturn in the economy, it will be the larger spaces that will be impacted. This project is important for Chamberiin as well as for the City and he felt it provided benefits for both. He said the traffic information was accurate and his project would be good for the city. If a different use than his building is put on the site such as restaurant or retail, it will increase traffic. He believed his proposal was a win/win solution and he hoped Council agreed. Ms. Michelotti inquired about the vacancy rate for Hacienda Business Park. Mr. Paxson replied that until the last couple of months the vacancy rate was about 1% and retail was at about g%. He estimated at the present the vacancy rate is about 2- 3%. Ple~santon City Council 15 Minutes 04~3~1