The Sunnyvale Sun
News
Community wants Town Center Mall to be 'green'
By Jason Goldman-Hall
Building and maintaining one million square feet of retail space, 250,000 square feet of commercial space and 292 for-sale housing units will consume mass quantities of fossil fuels, natural resources such as wood and electricity to power homes, stores and offices.
To counter that consumption, many Sunnyvale residents are calling for environmentally-sound "green building," materials and techniques to be used on the Town Center Mall redevelopment project. Those same residents want the new development to be certified for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design.
"The general public is becoming more educated on green building, about energy-saving or trying not to eat up resources," said Sunnyvale Parks and Recreations Commissioner Bob Lawson.
Green building was a major topic at the Oct. 28 Sunnyvale visioning festival, and it came up again at the Nov. 1 public meeting between the Sunnyvale City Council and representatives from various firms working on redevelopment.
On Oct. 26, it was announced developer Fourth Quarter Properties, LLC, was seeking to transfer the property to the partnership of Peter Pau's Sand Hill Properties and Rreef, a real estate investment group.
At the Nov. 1 meeting, Pau's architects from previous projects--including a similar redevelopment of San Mateo's Fashion Island shopping center--told residents green building would be a factor in the project.
"The council, the developer and everyone else in Sunnyvale should be concerned about making this a zero-energy development; it could be a showcase," said Margaret Lawson.
A "green" building typically involves such factors as recycled materials for construction, south-facing windows to collect sunlight and insulating walls and windows. In addition, continued use of photovoltaic cells to collect sunlight for energy or solar-heating systems for water can lower long-term energy costs.
Sunnyvale Mayor Ron Swegles said the city council will try to strike a balance between pressing the developers to build green and trying to remain flexible so the project can finally be built.
"We want to make sure they know that we want a green building, but give them the leeway to get the project done," Swegles said.
