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A dispute over parking has stalled the construction of a building at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Portal Avenue. For more than four months the structure has sat idle behind a chain-link fence at the southeast corner of the intersection. Some residents wonder if it will ever be completed.
"It appears that this project has been abandoned," said Lillian Harley, a resident who lives on nearby Deodara Drive. "Nothing has been done to it since November 2002. As it stands now, it is an ugly eyesore."
According to Steve Piasecki, director of the city's community development department, the structure, which is a part of Marketplace Center, will be a 38,200-square-foot shopping complex once completed.
Property owner, the Evershine Group, received a building permit for the project from the city of Cupertino in early 2002. The project, originally scheduled to be completed in nine months, however, unexpectedly stopped some months after construction began due to a dispute over parking issues between Evershine and Longs Drugs, which is a leasing tenant in the shopping center.
The exact details of the dispute are unknown. Evershine Group was not available for comment.
Nearby residents, such as Harley, do not like what they see.
"At first we thought they stopped working on it because of the heavy rain at the time," said Harley, who has lived in Cupertino since 1961. "But then the fences were put up, and work completely stopped. It's not a pretty sight. You cannot be in the area and not see the monstrosity. It's also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects."
Harley expressed her concerns about the partially completed building to the city government in February.
"I was told that it was due to a legal dispute over parking and that
the matter is in the hands of the courts. But my question is, how did this whole thing get started without the two sides working out a contract delineating the parking issue in the first place? Someone must have screwed up somewhere," Harley said.
According to Piasecki, so far one resident has sent in a complaint about the mess in that area. Although Evershine has done some work to tidy up the place, the future of the incomplete structure remains unknown.
While the city performs regular inspections on the construction every six months, there are no time restraints on the project.
"At this time, they can take as long as they need to build the structure. But we'll continue to monitor the situation," Piasecki said.
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