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Town Center construction ready to roll despite delays
By Sam Scott
Sunnyvale's Town Center Mall remains set to be revamped into a more modern shopping center, despite a series of delays. The first publicly visible stages of the transformation, dubbed Silicon Valley Wave, should begin in the coming weeks, said Jerry Schutte, a principal with American Mall Properties, the mall's owner.
According to Schutte, AMP renovation plans call for the addition of two parking garages, a pedestrian shopping street in the center of what is now the parking structure, and a 20-screen movie theater. The 1970's era mall also will get a face-lift.
Schutte said work on building a new parking structure at the corners of Sunnyvale and Iowa avenues would begin by July. The company is presently working with the city to relocate sewer, electricity and water lines from under the new garage site.
Demolishing the center section of the existing parking structure on Mathilda Ave. to make way for a shopping street should also begin soon, Schutte said.
The construction, when it happens, will be a long time coming. When AMP bought the mall in March of last year, city officials thought construction would be finished by fall 1999. However, reaching necessary agreements with the mall's anchor clients--Macy's, Ward's and Penneys--took much longer than anticipated. Plans were not finalized until December 1999.
Financial problems with some of AMP lenders caused further delays. Mary Bradley, the city's director of finance, said the city was unable to release approximately $25 million to AMP because a loan delay of approximately $61 million from another lender prevented AMP from improving the value of the mall to the level necessary to secure the loan from the city.
Bradley said she was in daily contact with AMP, to verify that the loan was proceeding. She said she anticipated closing escrow in a week or two.
Schutte attributed the delays to the complexity of the process.
"Anytime you get this many moving parts, you're bound to get coordination problems," he said.
David Boesch, Sunnyvale's Director of Community Development, said even with the delays, he thinks AMP could still finish the garage at Iowa Ave. and Sunnyvale Ave. by Nov. 1--the target date agreed upon by the anchor stores and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
"With every week that passes, it makes it a steeper hill to climb," he said. "But it is still doable."
Schutte said the 20-screen theater and the retailers on the new shopping street will open in 2001.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
