Archive for May, 2008
by John M. Zukoski on May 31, 2008 | 
No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
The Dublin Senior Center (7600 Amador Valley Blvd.) is having a retro-themed Sock Hop Dance on Saturday, June 21st from 7-10pm. Paul Carroll and Len Rogers of the Generation Gap Band will be performing hits from the 50s as Sock-Hoppers dance the night away.
You can buy tickets up until June 20th at the discounted price of $8 (or $9 for non-residents). Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $10.
Please call (925) 556-4511 or email senior@ci.dublin.ca.us for more information regarding this unique event.
by John M. Zukoski on May 30, 2008 | 6 Comments | Topics: Opinions
Dublin’s real estate market continued to rally this week with the average home sale price increasing another 7% to $562K. A robust 3 new homes (all Elan condos) and 7 existing homes were sold this past week, as well. Based on Dublin’s healthy sales volume and climbing average price, it appears that our local real estate market may have reached an equilibrium where supply is meeting demand.
For existing and prospective home buyers, here are a few bullish articles about real estate nationally and locally:
Happy Friday to everybody!
by John M. Zukoski on May 29, 2008 | 66 Comments | Topics: Schools
How could Dublin go about opening a high school in East Dublin? Based on the relatively strong support for opening a high school in East Dublin (indicated by this week’s Around Dublin poll results), it could be beneficial to think about how the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) could go about bringing a new high school to East Dublin.
First of all, residents that have an opinion about whether or not a high school should be opened in East Dublin can contact the DUSD Board of Trustees. It’s important that our elected representatives understand our concerns and benefit from our collective vision. Please click here for a link to the contact information for the DUSD Board of Trustees.
There are many avenues available to bring a new high school to East Dublin. Here are just a few approaches to opening a new high school in East Dublin. These can be considered on an individual basis or combined to create an optimal strategy:
- Convert the facilities at Fallon Middle School to support high school students (perhaps renaming the school to Fallon High School) and convert the Kolb Elementary facilities to support grades K – 8. Kolb Elementary is planned to open in 2010. This option wouldn’t be too much of a stretch given that the Fallon school site was initially being considered for use as a Middle School or a High School before the plans were finalized. Some of the land around Fallon Middle School could be acquired to provide additional facilities for the high school students, if needed.
- Use impact fees from future development (e.g., Fallon Village, Grafton Plaza, and Wallis Ranch) to acquire land and build the new East Dublin high school. Developers could choose to allocate a fraction of their available land to use for the new high school in lieu of a portion of the impact fees and then use the remaining impact fees to build the high school facilities.
- Issue a bond to generate the fees to build the new East Dublin high school and setup a Tax District in East Dublin to pay down the bond principal and interest. This Tax District would exist for a finite period of time until the bond is paid off. This would most likely be the least preferred approach for most East Dublin residents and developers.
- Use a portion of the remaining Dublin Measure C bond program proceeds to build a new high school.
These are just a few potential ideas for how a new high school can be opened in East Dublin. Can you think of any additional ideas? Please feel free to comment with your suggestions and why you would or would not like to see a new high school built in East Dublin.
by John M. Zukoski on May 25, 2008 | 3 Comments | Topics: Polls
I’d really like for Around Dublin to be a more interactive experience. One way to encourage more interaction between readers and the blog is by providing a weekly poll. Please note that this new poll feature appears in the upper-right corner of the Around Dublin page. Future blog entries could be based on the poll results if there is a robust level of feedback and responses from members of our community.
So please click on your selection to the first question – Should a new high school be built in East Dublin?
UPDATED POLL RESULTS
by John M. Zukoski on May 24, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Schools
Dublin’s voters passed the $184M Measure C bond program back in 2004 so that the Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) could upgrade it’s school facilities and IT hardware and software in the classrooms. As part of the facilities upgrade, the DUSD allocated a significant portion of the bond proceeds to Dublin High School for the purposes of renovating the track and field facility and adding a series of new buildings. The track and field facility improvements have been completed and the DUSD is now focused on building Dublin High School’s new Math and Science building (Phase 1B, please refer to the artist’s rendition above).
As you can see from the picture above, construction is well under way on Dublin High School’s new Math and Science building. While the estimated project completion date is November 2008, the construction company has experienced some delays related to the steel fabrication of the new building. This could push the expected building grand opening date out a few months. The DUSD staff is working diligently to minimize any delays that may have resulted from this unexpected challenge in the project. Please click here for the minutes from the January 23, 2008 Citizens’ Oversight Committee meeting for an update on the progress of all of the Measure C bond program improvements and additions.
The Dublin High School upgrades and additions are a prime example of the dedication and commitment that the DUSD and Dublin’s residents have to providing a high-caliber educational experience for children here in Dublin.
by John M. Zukoski on May 23, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Opinions
Dublin’s average home sale price increased by a whopping 13% to $524K this past week thanks to strong activity throughout the city. There were 11 total home sales in Dublin this week with 2 new home sales and 9 existing home sales. The strong Spring and Summer buying season is definitely showing through in the numbers.
by John M. Zukoski on May 20, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Development
Here are three quick updates related to previous Around Dublin blog entries:
- The Promenade – the delay in finalizing the deal between Charter Properties and Leisure Sports Inc. appears to be due to the need for both parties to agree to a building design that measures up to the City of Dublin’s high expectations for the Promenade as a premier retail experience.
- Open Land on Tassajara Road (DiManto Property) – the City of Dublin could not confirm whether or not the Dublin Land Company is in talks with another party to sell one, some, or all five of the parcels of open land along Tassajara Road. However, this could simply be because it’s too early in the negotiation process for Mr. DiManto to involve the City at this point.
- The East Dublin BART Station Parking Garage – the East Dublin BART station parking garage will open on Friday May 23rd. The color of the paint on the parking garage was selected by retiring City Manager Richard Ambrose. As noted before, the surface level parking will be available for the foreseeable future. I’ve received two somewhat conflicting pieces of information regarding how long the surface level parking will be available – anywhere from when the West Dublin BART station opens for business to the time that Avalon at Dublin Station starts phase 2 of their luxury apartment development.
by John M. Zukoski on May 19, 2008 | 4 Comments | Topics: Development
The Dublin City Council will be voting this Tuesday night (5/20/08) to officially approve the division of the open land along Tassajara Road owned by the Dublin Land Company into 5 distinct parcels. Prior to the development of East Dublin, the property had been one large parcel of land. However, as part of the East Dublin specific plan implementation, the property was physically divided by Dublin Boulevard, Central Parkway and Gleason Drive by the City of Dublin and by Northside Drive (the frontage road along I-580) by Caltrans.
Please click here for more information on this property.
There is also a rumor that there may be an interested buyer for a portion or possibly all of the open land along Tassajara Road owned by the Dublin Land Company – although nothing has been confirmed by the City of Dublin at this point. This could be a magnificent development and a boon for the residents of Dublin. A confirmation or negation of this rumor should be available soon.
by John M. Zukoski on May 17, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
The Dublin Senior Center has over a hundred lively and fun activities for folks of all ages. For those of us that enjoy walking or hiking through the natural wonders located right here in the Bay Area, the Dublin Senior Center has the Dublin (aka, Tri-Valley) Trail Trekkers. The Dublin Trail Trekkers offer a great way to:
- Discover many of the wonderful parks and trails in our surrounding area.
- Get a bit of exercise and have a Walden-like moment with nature.
- Learn the history of the areas that are trekked through.
- Engage in a unique activity with friends and/or meet new friends on a walk/hike.
The upcoming walks/hikes for May include a May 20th trek through Sunol’s rustic countryside and a May 27th Dry Creek walk. Please click here for the official schedule. The walks/hikes start at 9am – which is perfect now that we’re heading into the warm summer months.
Please feel free to call Edwin Osada at 925-829-9285 for more information about the Dublin Trail Trekkers or 925-556-4511 for more information about other programs that the Dublin Senior Center offers.
