The Cupertino Courier
Community
Curtain set to go up in April
By Cody Kraatz
The 16-screen AMC Theatres at Cupertino Square (Vallco Fashion Park) is set to open on April 27, said Mike Rohde, mall manager.
The projectors, popcorn makers and reclining seats are in place. AMC will come in soon to paint its signature mural over the entrance on the mall's new third level. Viewers will enter the theaters using escalators located in a large atrium on the ground floor.
An April 23 grand opening fundraiser for the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation, and the public opening the following week, depends on approval from the Santa Clara County Fire Department and Cupertino's building department.
Cupertino Square also wants to build a 69-foot sign with a liquid crystal display screen that would display advertisements for Cupertino Square and other products.
"I would think that if it is similar to the existing sign in height, (people) wouldn't be upset, but the LCD needs more review," said Ciddy Wordell, city planning director.
The sign is part of Cupertino's larger renovation, so it would not have to go before the planning commission, said Wordell.
There are not many billboards or other signs facing Interstate 280, primarily because the cities regulate signage themselves, said Wordell.
Rohde declined to name any of the new tenants he said are interested in leasing space as the mall re-invents itself, a process that includes changing the name from Vallco Fashion Park to Cupertino Square.
"We're just not at this point ready to release those letters of intent because (the leases) have either not been signed by the tenant or have not been signed by the landlord," said Rohde, who called the potential tenants major, national chains. Negotiations continue to change the roster of tenants to draw more people to the mall, which has a high vacancy rate.
California Pizza Kitchen, which plans to build a restaurant on Stevens Creek Boulevard near Wolfe Road, is waiting for Pacific Gas and Electric to install utilities at the site.
