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Downtown renovation plans finally approved
By Sam Scott
Sunnyvale City Council on April 11, flashed the green light to a project that will radically change the city's downtown.
In a unanimous vote, council gave permission to Mozart Development of Palo Alto to build 460,000 square feet of office space near the corner of Mathilda and Washington Avenues.
"Tonight we're changing the face of our city forever," Councilwoman Julia Miller said. "It's a step into the future."
In the works since 1998, the development calls for the construction of three large buildings, underground parking and an outdoor plaza on 5.8 acres now used as parking. The project will be a significant addition to the downtown area, which includes the Town Center Mall, Murphy Avenue, The Town and County Center and the Caltrain station.
City reports show one building will be five stories tall; the others are planned for six stories. The four-level underground parking garage will eventually accommodate 1600 cars. A public plaza occupying 1.8 acres rounds out the development plan.
The development will take place on land previously owned by the city and sold to Mozart for $10.1 million. Vice mayor Jack Walker said the price was at
the low end of the value the land might have attained. However, he said, other goals superseded the city selling the land at the highest price. "The city's not in it to make a lot of money," he said. "It's in it to make a good town."
Several nearby merchants expressed praise for the project, but also voiced concern about the effects construction will have on their businesses. The ground floors of the new facilities will include 10,000 square feet of retail space, which may house retailers hoping to compete with established merchants.
Joe Antuzzi, chair of the Sunnyvale Downtown Association, said he was worried about parking. The land slated for construction contains 429 spaces. The garage below the proposed buildings will eventually hold nearly four times that number. Two hundred fifty slots will be permanent parking, while 320 slots will be available to the public in off-peak times. An additional 100 public spaces will be built above ground.
Before the garage becomes available, however, the downtown will have to cope with diminished parking. City Planning Officer Trudi Ryan said the effect on parking will be influenced by yet-to-be-determined scheduling. If Mozart elects to begin building all three buildings simultaneously, the loss of parking would be greater than if they stagger the projects, she said.
The situation will be ameliorated somewhat by the destruction of a building near the post office that will generate around 30 new spaces. The tenant of the building, Mid-Peninsula Alano Club, a nonprofit service organization, had been receiving subsidized rent from the city and will have to find new premises.
Other unrelated projects also may increase the strain on the parking situation, depending on when they occur. Caltrain is slated to build a parking garage in its lot and the Town Center Mall is planning to build a similar structure on the corner nearest Murphy Street.
Businesses that can withstand a temporary loss of business may be pleased with the results. City staff estimate the occupied buildings will bring more than $12 million in retail sales downtown.
James Freitas, a representative with Mozart, said the developer likely will break ground in August. Developers reached an understanding with the Chamber of Commerce that construction will be delayed until after the chamber's Art and Wine Festival on June 3 and 4.
Freitas said the city's approval represented the biggest hurdle for Mozart. Financing and finding tenants, he said, would be taken care by the economic market.
Completion of the entire downtown project is set for January 2004.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
