REAL ESTATE TRENDS
Upfront
by Samia Cullen
LAND USE
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer buys funeral-home property Palo Alto parcel had been eyed by city for 21 housing units by Sue Dremann
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tor of planning and community environment. “Any new development would need to go through a re-zoning process — Planning and Transportation Commission review and City Council approval required,” he said. In addition to 980 Addison, the entire block — bounded by Middlefield, Addi- Marissa Mayer son, Webster Street and Channing Avenue — has been zoned as “planned community,” including an adjacent PC zone for the Webster Wood Apartments for low-income families. But the city’s Comprehensive
Mortuary
is $7,000, he noted. “The difference is $17,000 against $2,500. It’s a vast difference,” he said. The Roman Catholic Church is also affecting traditional funeral homes by getting into the funeral business, he said. “Catholic churches in some states have funeral homes in their cemeteries,” he said.
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& Hapgood’s demise, he said. People are changing how they are being buried and where they have services, he said. O’Connor has been a licensed funeral director for 50 years and a funeral director in Menlo Park for 25 years. He once had a 7,000-square-foot facility near downtown Menlo Park. In the 1980s, cremations constituted 20 percent of his business, but they jumped to 50 percent within 10 years, he said. “We were no longer doing two to three funerals a night with services in two to three chapels, so we downsized to 3,000 square feet,” he said. When cremation rates again rose he retired and sold the business, he said. O’Connor took an extended trip around the world for eight years. He returned to the business in 2010 after people complained of the void in Menlo Park. Now, cremations constitute 80 percent, he said. “Funeral directors ask me, ‘John, what the hell is going on in California?’ I don’t have an answer,” he said, noting that in other parts of the country, the cremation rate is 20 percent, he said. Most people in Palo Alto and Menlo Park can afford a traditional funeral, so O’Connor doesn’t think the change is due to money. But the difference in costs might be enticing. A cemetery plot costs $10,000; the price tag for scattering ashes by air or sea is $500. O’Connor charges $2,000 for a cremation. A traditional funeral, according to AARP,
‘We were no longer doing two to three funerals a night with services in two to three chapels, so we downsized to 3,000 square feet.’ —John O’Connor, funeral director, Menlo Park Funerals Catholic churches are also building wall niches in new churches to accommodate parishioners’ cremated remains, he said. Jim Spangler moved into O’Connor’s 7,000-square-foot Menlo Park space after O’Connor downsized. In 2009, when Spangler’s rent tripled, he closed the funeral home. Now his staff meets with families at their homes to make arrangements, and the firm works collaboratively with some local churches. O’Connor’s business model has also dramatically changed since returning to funeral directing. He works from a 500-square-foot office on Chestnut Street, and he answers his cell phone at any time of
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ahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is the new owner of the property that housed the now-closed Roller & Hapgood & Tinney funeral home, sources at the mortuary told the Palo Alto Weekly, which first reported the story, on Monday. The 1.16-acre property at 980 Middlefield Road, at the corner of Addison Avenue, is located a block east of Mayer’s Addison home and across the street from Addison Elementary School. Speculation has abounded this week as to what Mayer plans to do with the property. But she has stayed mum on the purchase and her plans for the corner lot. The site is currently zoned “planned community” (PC) and allows only a commercial funeralhome to use the land, said Aaron Aknin, Palo Alto’s assistant direc-
Plan has designated the area for “multi-family use,” which allows between 8 and 40 housing units per acre depending on the zoning. On June 26, 2012, a city staff report identified the funeral-home property as a potential site for up to 21 residences. The corner lot is, however, across the street from blocks designated for single-family homes. It is also one block away on Addison from single-family residences. The land deal closed Oct. 7, according to Jim Spangler, president of Mountain View-based Spangler Mortuaries, which purchased Roller & Hapgood & Tinney’s business assets. Mayer’s current 5,600-squarefoot home, on 0.3 acres, was the site of a Democratic fundraising dinner with President Barack Obama in October 2010. N
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the day or night. Marilyn Talbot, general manager at Palo Alto’s Alta Mesa Memorial Park, which includes the city’s sole remaining mortuary, said the full-service funeral home was added in 2010, including a chapel and reception area where people can order or bring catered food. “The trend is that people want to go to one place instead of a lot of different places,” she said. People also expect and want technology to play a role in funerals, Talbot said. Alta Mesa offers tribute videos, memorial websites and live funeral webcasting. Since many family members live out of the country and can’t attend a funeral, Alta Mesa’s chapel has a huge drop-down screen so all parties can see each other. “People have live-streamed services all over the world,” she said. As for Roller & Hapgood & Tinney, Spangler said, families can continue to use the firm’s phone number or visit its website. Persons wanting to view family funeral records and consult on prearrangements made with Roller & Hapgood can contact Spangler at 650-967-5546. Spangler has offices in Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.
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