Although it will surely bring greater sales tax revenue to the city, the store--and in particular its giant blue and yellow sign--have left at least one neighborhood unhappy.

"It's too bad they didn't do what we asked of them and turn the blue wedge and the yellow ticket sign toward [El Camino Real] so it can be seen and won't be looming over the neighbors," said Ray Strong. Neighbors on the north side of Chopin Drive share their back fence with Best Buy.

Strong and his neighbors made a number of attempts to get Best Buy leaders to come out and look at the view from their backyards, but were unable to get anyone to visit. They were also unable to get any change to the plans, despite their attempts.

Part of the problem was that none of the neighbors took notice of the problem until the building was up and they finally saw what the Best Buy sign would look like.

"We trusted them--maybe wrongly so--and were too complacent," Jerilyn Strong said. "But it's open, so what can we do? We just hope they'll be good neighbors and respect the people behind them."

Best Buy has said it plans to plant trees along the fence to provide a visual barrier between the neighbors and the sign.

Although the neighbors on Chopin Drive are unhappy with the building, Best Buy--and the sales tax revenue it generates--could greatly benefit the city.

"Initially there were concerns, but I think they can be mitigated if the company works to be a good corporate neighbor," Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Suzi Blackman said. "That part of El Camino is already a very commercial area, and I think that it's a good place to have them."

Blackman said although she does not know specific figures yet, a major retail store like Best Buy will definitely bring more money into the city's beleaguered coffers.

Sunnyvale will also be able to compete with cities such as San Jose and East Palo Alto that already have Best Buys.

"From a chamber perspective, [Best Buy] has been very interested in getting involved in the community," Blackman said. "They want to begin working here and become good corporate neighbors."

From Best Buy's perspective, "getting involved in the community" started well before doors opened. Business Sales Manager Patrick Andragna said the store is set up to appeal to two demographics they found in Sunnyvale. The first is the "Buzz" group, of 18- to 35-year-old men who want the latest technology, video games, music and movies.

Andragna said the store has a "test-drive" center for customers who want to check out their purchases before they commit.

"They can play the game, watch the movie or listen to the CD before they buy it," he said.

The other type of person they expect to shop heavily at the store is the small business owner. For that group--in addition to the traditional "sales associates" in blue polo shirts and khaki pants--there'll be tie-wearing, business-sales professionals ready to answer business and technology questions. The Sunnyvale store will also break from most other stories in the retail chain and sell business items like cash registers and barcode scanners.

There is one group of people--the Chopin Drive neighborhood--the store may not have to worry about catering to.

"I think there's been a lot of pain, and we used to shop at Best Buy, but now we'll probably go down the street to Circuit City," Chopin Drive resident Ray Strong said. "I'm pretty angry with them. All we got was lip service from their vice presidents."