In the meantime, an article printed in a local business newspaper suggesting the mall's buyers—commercial property developers Emily Chen, John Nguyen and Alan Wong—plan to turn part of Vallco into an Asian marketplace is upsetting some residents. Some longtime residents argue that a corridor of Asian stores and Asian signs on the lower floor of Vallco will make them feel like outsiders in their own town.

Recently Chen, Nguyen and Wong entered into a contract to purchase the property for $80 million from Vallco's current owner—the New York­based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.

Teachers, which had been Vallco's lender for many years, ended up as the mall owner on Feb. 13 after no one topped their mandatory opening bid of $55 million during a public auction.

Teachers had to take back the property repeatedly after unhappy endings with the various owners.

In the most recent case, Teachers began foreclosure proceedings against the Richard E. Jacobs Group Inc. in August 2002 when Jacobs Group owed Teachers more than $60 million.

As prospective new owners are now on the scene, city officials held a study session on April 15 to meet with the mall's buyers to discuss their vision for Vallco's redevelopment. However, because the property is still in escrow, none of the buyers attended. They were, instead, represented at the meeting by their San Jose attorney, Dennis Brown.

"My clients are very interested in working with the city," Brown said. "But the purchase is still in escrow. There are a lot of legal issues involved that are very sensitive. It's premature

for them to get involved with the city at this time."

During the study session, members of the Cupertino City Council shared their redevelopment visions and ideas and encouraged the new owners to be proactive in working with the city and the community in revitalizing Vallco.

Mayor Michael Chang said, "Vallco has been close to the heart of the community. It's not just a business proposition but a community asset. I hope the buyers will share their ideas with us so we can work collectively on the challenges."

Brown, the buyers' attorney, said that it's premature to talk about vision, but the three buyers are flexible.

"The three potential buyers are people from this community. They are passionate about Vallco and want to work with the city. They want to be creative and look outside the box," Brown said.

Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval said creativity is vital to Vallco's redevelopment. Some of the ideas she mentioned included a mixed-use property with retail, entertainment and vital services, such as a child-care service, that would make Vallco a destination spot for the whole community.

Toward the end of the discussion, the meeting took an emotional turn when four residents spoke out. They referred to a headline in a local business newspaper that read "Vallco plan: Asian market."

Although the buyers' attorney says the developers have not done detailed planning at this time, the newspaper statement has made some residents nervous.

Susan Sievert, a longtime resident, said, "When I read that they are going to make Vallco another Asian center, I felt hurt. I don't feel that I am welcomed at Cupertino Village. I don't understand the Chinese signage. It makes me feel like an outsider in my own town. I really don't like the separation."

Jennylea Sepulveda, another longtime resident, believes the Chinese signage is divisive and that the Asian American community is "cutting themselves out" from the rest of the city.

Other residents in attendance were of a different opinion.

Jesse Dewath, a De Anza student, said, "I grew up in Cupertino and attended Cupertino schools. I like the diversity we have here. I think it's great."

But what to do with Vallco to make it a profitable enterprise is still a major problem to be solved.

According to Steven Piasecki, director of the city's community development department, the 26-year-old shopping center has the potential to grow by another 535,000 square feet, which translates into more than 1.6 million square feet of space.

Although achieving success has been a consistent goal for Vallco, the mall's performance has hit an unprecedented low in recent years. In less than a decade, Vallco has seen three different owners, and with high vacancy rates and low sales, Vallco has been unable to compete with neighboring Valley Fair and the Stanford Shopping Center.

Piasecki calculates that Vallco's underperformance costs the city about $1 million a year in sales tax revenues, and in tough economic times like today, the impact of such a loss is too significant to ignore.