The Sunnyvale Sun

News

Downtown shops ready for construction

By Stephen Baxter

Demolition of parts of Sunnyvale Town Center is expected as early as June, and business owners and shoppers are bracing for a massive reshaping of the city's downtown.

The Sunnyvale City Council last week agreed to shift 36 acres of land surrounding Target and Macy's to a new developer, and paved the way for a $400 million shopping, office and housing project. Downtown shoppers will have to deal with the noise and dust of construction until its expected completion in late 2008 or 2009, but Sand Hill Property Co. has plans to lessen the impact.

After power lines are rerouted, the construction hours will be from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Dump trucks and other heavy vehicles will be allowed on Mathilda and McKinley avenues, and they also can turn right on Iowa and Mathilda avenues, according to the approved Construction mitigation plan. Washington and Sunnyvale avenues are expected to carry less traffic.

Developers held meetings with business owners on Jan. 24 and 25 to address issues such as noise, traffic, dust and power outages, and drafted the plan to mitigate problems.

The developer plans to meet with business owners at least once a month, provide a 24-hour phone number for concerns, develop a construction website and give two week's notice before power is disrupted. There will also be an office onsite for residents and businesses to contact project leaders.

Sand Hill owner Peter Pau said communication is key to good project. "Sometimes rumors start spreading. Every time we do a project, it's scary to hear back what people think you are doing," Pau said.

While many shop owners and restaurateurs stand to benefit from crowds when the project finishes, some owners worry the simultaneous construction on Town and Country on Washington Avenue will repel shoppers from the Murphy Avenue core.

Tenants at Town and Country, which Sand Hill owns, are allowed to be there until June, Pau said, and construction of 400 condos and townhomes and some shops will follow.

"There's no question that when all these projects are going on at the same time, we're going to be surrounded by construction," said Joe Antuzzi, owner of Il Postale restaurant at 127 W. Washington Ave.

The downtown redevelopment maps more than a million square feet of shops, offices and retail space in a new grid of tree-shaded streets with a central plaza. The plans are more like a traditional downtown than the disguised outdoor mall proposed by a prior developer, and they will include a hotel, grocery store and a Century Theaters multiplex.

Antuzzi said he expects chain restaurants in the Town Center, which may not create as much buzz and competition as independent restaurants might. He and many business owners indicated they hope the project is successful.

"I wish we could turn the clock forward two years and see what happens," Antuzzi said.