City council mulls partial downtown design plans
Redevelopment of apartment units is under consideration
By Jennifer Zhang
A possible change to Cupertino's physical appearance was discussed at a special meeting on May 13 involving the city council and the planning commission. However, the council isn't completely satisfied with the early plans of the redevelopment.
Representatives from the Prometheus Real Estate Group introduced their plan to redevelop a portion of the existing Villa Serra and Grove Apartments located on Homestead Road near Stelling Road.
The Villa Serra and Grove Apartments are composed of 388 units, including 336 units in Villa Serra and 52 units in Grove Apartments. Prometheus plans to demolish 130 of the existing units and build 400 new ones, with a total gain of 270 units.
The new buildings are expected to be four stories high; the current buildings are two. Prometheus emphasized its wish to bring buildings closer to the street as part of the "new urbanism" trend.
The real estate group assured the council that the new structures would blend in with the landscape itself as well as existing buildings, which is a primary concern of the council.
The council expressed more concerns in addition to the change in appearance. Vice Mayor Michael Chang suggested that the group consider designing units of different sizes to accommodate different-sized families. He emphasized that the apartments should not be just for high-tech professionals, but also for families with children and the elderly.
"We should think about how is this a community ... a community for different-aged people," Chang said. "Maybe a basketball court or other different recreation facilities would be good."
Lowenthal agreed with Chang, adding, "The apartments should be family-oriented. They are for all workers of Cupertino, not just a section of them."
Lowenthal also suggested that there should be a pedestrian trail and fewer fences so that people can walk across the property easily.
The council members fear that if four-story housing structures are built, the new height will become the standard and lead to higher-density housing in the community--along with the negative impacts of widespread high-density housing: traffic problems and less public open space.
The need for open space near the redevelopment site area is already high because there are no public parks in the area.
"The important thing to remember is that the city needs the land for public parks, not the money," said Therese Smith, director of parks and recreation.
The council is also concerned about potential impacts this redevelopment might have on current residents of the area. A rental slope was suggested to prevent a drastic jump in rental rate for existing tenants.
"We want to let residents living around the area know what's happening in their neighborhood," Councilman Patrick Kwok said. "It's good to let them know and have their input every step of the way."
Prometheus' redevelopment plan is still in its preliminary stages. Many changes, discussions and improvements are still to come in the near future, council members said.
Cupertino, California Since 1947
