Courtesy photograph
Sunnyvale's Mayor Jack Walker, members of the city council, City Manager Bob LaSala and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Suzi Blackman, join representatives of Bank of America and the CEO of the Mozart Development Company, all don hard hats and pick-up shovels at the Dec. 15 groundbreaking ceremony for downtown redevelopment. Blackman promised that in two years Sunnyvale will look completely different.
Downtown Digs
Groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of a new downtown
By Daniel Hindin
Members of Sunnyvale's city council and staff were in high spirits as the city and the Mozart Development Company held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new downtown office plaza. They celebrated the occasion under beautiful sunny skies on Dec. 15.
As dozens of people looked on, holding glasses of champagne, cars came to a halt on the adjacent streets. The onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of council members and other city luminaries as they donned white hard hats and began digging with shiny shovels into a small square of pavement near the corner of Washington and Mathilda avenues.
Everyone involved in the planning process appeared a bit giddy during the ceremony as all of their hard work finally materialized into something concrete for the entire town to see.
"In two years, this town will have a totally different look," exclaimed Suzi Blackman, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.
The 460,000-square-foot area, which will include one five-story building, two six-story buildings, a four-level underground parking garage and a 1.8-acre outdoor plaza, will serve as the cornerstone of Sunnyvale's new downtown. And officials say that this only marks the first step in the revitalization of Sunnyvale.
"This is a big day for Sunnyvale," said City Manager Bob LaSala, "Once all of this is built, it will attract more and more developers. This area is just going to take off."
Councilwoman Pat Vorreiter expects the new downtown to have a major impact on life in Sunnyvale.
"We're not celebrating bricks and mortar today," she said, "but really the vitality of our community. There will be many retail stores in the office building, and the pedestrian oriented downtown will play host to many art shows."
LaSala focused on another added benefit of the office buildings: fewer people in their cars during the day.
"The high-tech workers can be here all day," he said. "They won't have to get in their cars and drive anywhere."
"This will give Sunnyvale a sense of place," LaSala added. "It's often difficult to distinguish one town from another on the peninsula. I think people will begin to say, 'Hey, I want to go to downtown Sunnyvale and see what's going on today.' "
Mayor Jack Walker called the day the beginning of a new era.
"This is a way to creatively and intelligently respond to the growth going on around us," Walker said. "It marries economic advancement with a higher quality of life."
The Mozart Development Company predicts completion of its part of the project by the end of 2002. They expect to open the entire area to the public in the summer of 2003.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
