

Ask HN: Why no dorm-style living for ppl in incubators in Bay Area? - gtbcb

Finding a reasonably priced place to live in the SF Bay Area (SF city or peninsula) is a damn nightmare.  I haven't spent more than 20 min crunching the numbers, but I'm surprised some rich dude hasn't built some dorm-style housing specifically for entrepreneurs or people accepted to Bay Area incubators.  When I say dorm-style I mean cheap, close quarters (for collaboration), potentially cafeteria style food (think fraternity house), with some sort of filter for acceptance (e.g. accepted to a recognized incubator, raised a seed round of &#62;$Xk).  Thoughts?
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mchannon
"Some rich dude" probably is aware of many far more deserving recipients of
his charity than a group of fresh-off-the-bus entrepreneurs who can't figure
out how to live in Silicon Valley.

Now, if, say, "some rich dude" was to ask for equity in lieu of rent, then
that could be potentially quite savvy (and lucrative). The downside from that
approach is that you have to deal with all the usual landlord/tenant
headaches, and added on to that, what to do if a longtime tenant decides to
pick up a day job and stay at that day job.

One would also wonder if the cream of the crop in terms of entrepreneurs would
even part with 0.1% of their equity in order to receive subsidized housing
versus finding another way to make it happen. Would Zuck have taken this offer
in 2004?

The way for this to happen (maybe) successfully would be for some non-local
government (some city or state in middle America, or abroad) to purchase the
property to house startup entrepreneurs with the understanding that 6-18
months in they relocate their operations back to the motherland. This should
be enough time to get (or not get) initial funding, network, and traction
opportunities that the valley offers and their town does not.

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impendia
Because housing and zoning codes are controlled by city governments which are
in turn controlled by owners of million dollar houses. It is against their
economic interests, and also they are extremely sensitive to issues such as
traffic, parking, and the like.

Reading the real estate ads in Palo Alto newspapers, it's extremely obvious
that if developers could build to density where it made economic sense to, the
housing bubble would disappear immediately. But it's a huge pain to get even
the smallest project approved, and deliberately so.

I don't think it's right, but that's how it is.

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gtbcb
I agree, and this makes sense; however, I would think that creating cheaper
living for the right kind of people (e.g. aspiring entrepreneurs) would be
something that even the owners of these million dollar houses would be open to
given that Palo Alto is the hub of entrepreneurial activity on the peninsula
and seems to be something that the community takes pride in.

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argonaut
No. You average (or at least the plurality demographic) million-dollar-house
owner in Palo Alto is a middle-to-late-aged married couple that probably does
not care about entrepreneurship.

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gatsby
This idea is really interesting and I've spent some time thinking about it as
well. There are obviously some substantial regulatory and financial barriers
to creating collaborative, dorm-style live/work spaces, but it seems like
there is definitely a need for more affordable housing solutions in the
valley.

gtbcb and anyone ese interested in real estate - shoot me an email (it's in my
profile). I'd love to chat further.

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dragonbonheur
I'm surprised no one is making a killing converting Silicon Valley and Bay
Area houses into capsule hotels like the Japanese.

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gtbcb
I've wondered about this for a while, and would love to hear additional input.
My guess in that the Bay area proactively does things to limit population
density (particularly a place like Palo Alto where I live) and traffic.

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dragonbonheur
Whoever wrote or enforces the laws should be reminded there's a recession
happening.

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david927
I'm surprised too; I think that would do very well.

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cjfarivar
Live in Oakland, dude. :)

~~~
gtbcb
The action is in the city / peninsula ;0) Also, I feel like something like
this would further the collaborative entrepreneurial community in the Bay
area, particularly the peninsula where there aren't many place to congregate /
collaborate (with the exception of the Hacker Dojo). Plus making finding a
decent place easier.

