The Sunnyvale Sun

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Santana Row business ready to expand into Sunnyvale

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

As most of Sunnyvale waits for updates on the Town Center Mall redevelopment, there are also a number of business owners waiting, leases in hand or ready to be signed, to fill the restored street grid and meet new customers.

One of those owners, 13-year Sunnyvale resident Karie Bennett, is working with Fourth Quarter Properties LLC to finalize a lease to bring her Atelier Salon Spa--with one location at San Jose's Santana Row--to Sunnyvale.

But those plans could be slowed, or even ended, depending on the negotiations between Fourth Quarter and the city.

"The potential tenants on this project are very excited about it," Bennett said. "I believe in this project, both as a resident and as a potential business owner."

Bennett said she thinks Fourth Quarter's plan would be successful in the city, and that it would bring an atmosphere similar to Santana Row to Sunnyvale.

"I think Fourth Quarter has done a great job of putting it together, and it looks like it could be a really beautiful project," she said.

Bennett said the delays have not been beneficial to anyone, because the city is losing revenue, business owners are losing what she believes is a promising market opportunity, and residents are left with an empty building and a new parking lot. She said her contract would have her spa open by October of 2008, and she would be able to enter the space to begin work on it as early as May of that year.

Fourth Quarter and the city have been in negotiations for the better part of a year after demolition stalled at the beginning of 2006. On March 8, the city issued a notice of default after the developer failed to meet a number of deadlines.

Fourth Quarter returned to the city with a list of proposed changes, including the possible addition of 200 more housing units. Then-project manager Jane Vaughan said the additional units were necessary to defer construction and material costs.

The city refused to address the changes until the original breach of contract was discussed. Finally, on Aug. 14, it moved to take over the project by exercising a contractual clause that allows the city to purchase the land from the developer at a fair price should the developer breach the contract.

Sunnyvale communications officer John Pilger said he could not comment on the ongoing negotiations between Fourth Quarter and the city, but in the absence of any formal changes to the plan, Fourth Quarter is still the developer attached to the project.

Fourth Quarter representatives could not be reached for comment.