The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

City Council approves deal with downtown developer

By Justin Berton

Despite fears from merchants that months of construction and lack of parking would kill their businesses in the downtown area, the Sunnyvale Redevelopment Agency agreed to the financial terms and concept of a new downtown at the June 16 meeting.

The $10 million project at the corner of Mathilda and Evelyn avenues would build three office buildings with retail shops, an upscale hotel, underground parking and a public plaza. Two of the office buildings will be five stories high, and the third will be no higher than six stories.

Mozart Development Group will take ownership of the land if councilmembers--who also serve as the Redevelopment Agency--approve a detailed contract for the project at the August 18 meeting.

Only Councilmember Stan Kawczynski opposed the action in the 5-1 vote, saying, "We are giving away the soul of this community."

In exchange for the 5.5 acres of land, Mozart will build the underground parking garage, contribute $1 million toward the development of the public plaza and reimburse the Redevelopment Agency for the costs of developing the land.

Other councilmembers, including Fred Fowler, considered the vote a major step for Sunnyvale to revitalize an area of the city that has ridden the roller coaster of prosperity since the days when canneries were the downtown employers.

"This will set the destiny for many years to come," Fowler said.

Of the 12 members from the public who spoke, seven expressed either strong reservations or flat-out opposition to the plan.

The reoccurring theme from merchants at the Town & Country Shopping Village and Town Center Shopping Mall was the disruption construction will cause, and the removal of parking spaces to make way for the buildings.

"How will I get business with construction trucks parked in front of my shop?" asked Deborah Maxwell, a merchant at Town & Country Shopping Village.

One member of the audience held a sign facing councilmembers which read "Leave Parking Alone."

Dyane Matas, Housing and Preservation Officer for the city, said more visible parking signs on Mathilda Avenue will direct shoppers to the Town Center parking garage. Matas also suggested shuttle buses from the Town Center would bring shoppers to the Town & Country Shopping Center during the construction process.

But that kind of arrangement won't make it easy or accessible for shoppers to come to the area, said Peter Meissner, who has owned Heritage Antiques in the Town & Country for the past eight years.

"Will I survive that process? Probably not," Meissner predicted, adding, "I feel a real loss because Sunnyvale has let me down. I've been a merchant here a long time."

To alleviate the lost surface parking, T.K. Baird of Mozart said the group plans to build "the most expensive public parking structure in the state of California." The underground parking garage will hold 320 spaces and be located directly beneath the public plaza that is planned to be 1.33 acres.

Building a parking garage beneath the surface, Baird said, is 150 percent more expensive for Mozart than it would be to build an above-ground structure.

With the underground parking and street parking redesigned, Mozart hopes to create an additional 25 parking spaces to the area when the project is complete.

According to a city report, the downtown project will attract more than $1 million annually in property taxes. Increased retail sales in downtown will generate an estimated $12 million annually, which would contribute another $120,000 in sales tax to the city.

If councilmembers accept the final contract in August, Mozart has 120 days to win the approval of the Planning Commission and City Council for the buildings and hotels. Once approved, the first office building and the hotel will begin construction within nine months, according to city records.

After the late-night meeting went into its fourth hour, Councilmember Jack Walker said, "We can debate this issue all day long, but we have to get off the pot and do something. This is what we are going to do."

Mayor Jim Roberts, whose family-owned Sunnyvale Lumber company has done business with Mozart in the past, abstained from the hearing to avoid a possible conflict of interest.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 24, 1998.
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