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Sunnyvale prepares for the future
By Daniel Hindin
The redevelopment of downtown Sunnyvale will soon shift into high gear, with the construction of both residential and commercial projects in the area.
Construction began this summer with the relocation of utilities in several areas, including under the J.C Penney's parking lot at the corner of Iowa and Sunnyvale avenues. Workers demolished a building at 155 Taafe St., south of the post office, on Aug. 2. They will pave the area for parking.
Officials expect completion of some apartments in a 300-unit residential building on the Olson property at El Camino Real and Mathilda Avenue in the near future. Officials also report work on the 124-unit building at Sunnyvale and Evelyn avenues continues at a steady pace.
According to officials, many more projects will start in the next couple of months. These include: a five-level Macy's parking garage at the corner of Washington and Sunnyvale avenues, a four-level underground parking garage near the corner of Evelyn Avenue and Frances Street and the new multimodal Caltrain transit station. Plans for the new transit station also include a 400-space parking garage, a completely new station and a plaza.
In addition to these projects, the demolition of the center section of the existing parking garage between Mathilda Avenue and the Town Center Mall will take place within the week, according to Sunnyvale Director of Economic Development Karen Davis. It was originally scheduled for this past summer.
As construction picks up, officials say commuters will experience a lot of traffic redirection. The city plans to give the public fair warning for each phase of construction.
"Our commitment is to let people know two weeks in advance," Davis said.
Besides notification in the local papers, the two-week mark before a project will also be acknowledged through mail notices to downtown businesses and residents, as well as posted notices at the local Caltrain station.
One week before construction begins officials will distribute fliers to Caltrain commuters during peak commute hours and a second notification in local papers. When construction starts, a valet parking/parking ambassador program will begin.
Davis notes the two-week warning that ran in the Oct. 12 edition of the San Jose Mercury News was a false alarm.
"We found that we needed to do additional work, so it changed," she explained. "We want to make sure that we do as much advance work as possible so once the real construction starts, it will be easier. We decided that we would rather err on the side of letting people know earlier rather than later.
"There are so many unknowns because there are so many different players," she added. "Part of this process is constant change."
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
