Alan Wong's restaurant— similar to Dynasty, his 900-seat diner in San Jose, only bigger— is going to open in May. The banquet hall is already fully booked until the end of the year. And more than 15 retail stores, including a bookstore, are negotiating their leases with the shopping center.

The renewed energy to revitalize Vallco has come from a plan to build a 3,500-seat, 16-screen movie theater on top of the shopping center by next November at the earliest.

"The movie theater will be the engine that rejuvenates the shopping center," said Emily Chen, one of Vallco's three owners. "Patrons will have to enter the lobby, pass retail stores and take an elevator or an escalator to go to the movie theater. It will generate the foot traffic for the retail businesses.

Even the Concerned Citizens of Cupertino, a grassroots organization that advocates limiting building heights in the city, has no objection over the movie theater's adding 40 feet to the 38-foot-high mall.

The problem the owners face now is that the proposed location for the movie theater isn't among the three locations regulated by the development agreement made between the city and former Vallco owner, Westland Shopping Center, in 1991. When Wong's group took over Vallco last June, they were required by law to adhere to the agreement.

The owners must come to the planning commission and the city council to request an amendment to the development agreement. While Vallco has to sign the lease with the movie theater in two weeks, but it will take the city at least a month to amend the development agreement.

"The location is just a minor change," Chen said. "For the movie theater to open next year, it takes four months of architectural work and structural work and we need to put on the roof and seal it before the rainy season comes in November."

The city council pledged full support and promised that they will hold special meetings to fast track the process but it is impossible for them to amend the agreement in two weeks.

The planning commission will consider the amendment at its April 26 meeting. To speed up the process, the city council will have a special meeting on April 27 to approve the amendment and will have a second reading in two weeks. At the same time, the city needs to conduct an environmental assessment and perhaps a traffic study, too, according to senior planner Ciddy Wordell.

"One month is good enough for us although we'd like it to be quicker," said Vallco General Manager Mike Rhode.

The movie theater is just one of the many projects the new owners propose putting in Vallco. They plan to build a 150-suite hotel at the north end of the property near Wolfe Road and a mixed-use project with 204 residential units in the parking lot across the street from JCPenny. Alexander's Steak House will move into the building where the Mexican restaurant El Torito was located.

"The housing will pay for the theater's parking structure and the improvement of the mall," Rhode said.

Council members say although they have concerns about traffic, they like the owners' plan.

"For the owners, it might be about money. But for the residents, it is about service," said Councilman Richard Lowenthal. "People in Cupertino will be happy."