Agency votes in favor of feasibily plan for parking lot

Macy's lot to temporarily have fewer than 450 parking spaces

By Jesse Ducker

Sunnyvale's Redevelopment Agency unanimously agreed to a reciprocal easement agreement with the developers working with the American Mall Properties regarding utility relocation in the parking lot in front of Macy's. The construction will take place between Nov. 1 and 19.

The Redevelopment Agency, composed of city council members, unanimously voted to accept the agreement following the council meeting on Oct. 16, after a presentation by Robert Paternoster, director of public works for Sunnyvale. Paternoster said that because of underground work--the installation of wires for utilities in the area--the lot would operate with less than 450 parking spaces for a limited period of time.

"Let's get it done and get it over with," Mayor Jack Walker said.

According to Paternoster, prior to a vote he asked the developers, Schnieder and Langston, to approach the downtown business association with their plan. The downtown business association represents many of the stores in the Town Center Mall and on Murphy Avenue, which are both in extremely close proximity to the parking lot in question. The lot is "the crown jewel" of parking lots in the area, according Joe Antuzzi, president of the association.

Antuzzi said the association gave the developers the OK to do the work with certain conditions. The foremost of the conditions is that the work must be completed between Nov. 1 and 19. Public works has issued the developers a work permit to operate between those dates.

The concern that the utility installation not last beyond Nov. 19 is for fear that the construction would interfere with the post-Thanksgiving shopping rush that begins Nov. 21. According to Antuzzi, many of the businesses in the area would be not be happy if the installation wasn't complete by Nov. 19.

"The installation won't impede holiday shopping," Paternoster said at the meeting.

Paternoster said the developers plan to work in phases, with a limited number of parking spaces temporarily unavailable during each phase. The range is between 35 and 78 spaces. A new phase can't begin until the other is completed, limiting the space unavailable at any given time.

According to John Hopkins, deputy director of public works, the maximum number of spaces allowed to be unavailable during that time is 150. However, he said he doesn't think the developers will come close to that number at any time.

Still, Antuzzi said some tension exists between the Schneider and Langston developers, who are working with American Mall Properties, owners of the Town Center Mall.

"Their credibility is pretty low," he said, citing the one and half years that it's taken to complete the Iowa and Sunnyvale avenue parking lot. According to Antuzzi, the lot was originally supposed to be completed in four months.

"If they'd taken this up with us earlier, it wouldn't have been much of a problem," he said. "Because they waited so long, the association's meeting with them was more hostile than it needed to be."

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