Boyd Smith : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Boyd Smith, who was the manager of Stanford Real Estate in the late 1960s and early 1970s, provides an overview of Stanford’s major land use projects during his tenure, especially the development of the Stanford Industrial Park, and the challenges they encountered. He begins the interview by recounting his family history and his path to the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA Program. Smith speaks about joining the staff of Stanford’s International Center for the Advancement of Management Education and his transition to the Stanford Real Estate office where he worked for Alf Brandin. Smith describes the factors motivating Stanford’s land use; resistance to the development of Stanford lands by the Palo Alto City Council and others; leasing and subleasing agreements; and the role of private property developers in repurposing buildings for new uses. He also discusses the experience of working on real estate deals after leaving Stanford, explains his disillusionment with the real estate business, and how he and his wife, Jill Smith, were drawn to philanthropic work. He concludes the interviews with reflections on real estate in the Bay area and the importance of ethical business dealings.
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 3 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | May 3, 2017 - 2017-06-28 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Smith, Boyd | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Smith, Boyd | |
| Interviewer | Jones, Laura | |
| Interviewer | Phillips, William T. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Real Estate |
|---|---|
| Subject | Real estate development |
| Subject | Stanford Industrial Park |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Summary Part 1 | [00:00:00 – 00:35:47] Family history • Importance of education • Meeting his future wife in high school • Attending Stanford Graduate School of Business • Jobs he had during high school, college, and business school • Attending Palo Alto High School • International Center for the Advancement of Management Education (ICAME) • Traveling for work with ICAME • Friendship with Rha Woong-bae • Hiring Rosemary McAndrews and Carolyn Johnson • Duties as manager of real estate • Relationship with Alf Brandin and Alf’s working style [00:35:47 – 00:56:09] Memories of Wallace Sterling; story of a last-minute change to the agenda at a Board of Trustees meeting • Resistance to LM-5 and other real estate developments during his tenure • Development of Palo Alto Square • Mayfield School site |
|---|---|
| Summary Part 2 | [00:00:00 – 00:34:10] Stanford Industrial Park/Research Park • Faculty involvement in building review • Prepaid leases; changing standard lease length • Academic connections with Stanford Industrial Park • Resistance to development in wake of Oregon Expressway controversy • Redeveloping existing buildings • Use clauses and subleases and developers’ role; example of Jack Wheatley’s efforts to repurpose IT&T building • Converting buildings for modern use[00:34:10 – 00:59:55] Renegotiating restrictive use clauses • Example of Preformed Line Products / Clock Tower project • Gerson Bakar and Oak Creek Apartments • Land leasing policy in Stanford’s Founding Grant • Tradition of electrical transmission research in the Engineering School • Interactions with the university on real estate projects • Memories of student protests at SRI on Hanover Street • Reflections on involvement of Terman and early tenants in World War II electronic countermeasures effort [00:59:55 – 01:33:51] Hazmat contamination issues; ethics and responsibility of tenants concerning hazardous materials • Origins of Industrial Park in mitigating property taxes and supporting academic mission; high standards for building • Welch Road and Stanford shopping center purpose to generate revenue • Rosemary McAndrews’s vision for the shopping center • Hotels on Stanford land • Palo Alto Square and the hotel that didn’t happen • Mixed use buildings and planned community development • Conflicts with the City of Palo Alto • Escondido Village and student housing • Educational philanthropy through the Golden Gate Family Foundation |
| Summary Part 3 | [00:00:00 – 00:36:24] Joining Jack Wheatley’s real estate company after leaving Stanford • Decision to stop pursuing new real estate development opportunities • Joining the board of the Palo Alto YMCA and transitioning to working in philanthropy • Reflections on ethical dealings in real estate; Alf Brandin’s influence • His children’s involvement in real estate and family collaboration • Reflections on his time at Stanford |
| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/kz139vd2467 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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