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City Beat
Developers proposing 32 units on Willow St.
Site owners want residential plan, not commercial
By Kate Carter
Developers are proposing to replace several homes and offices in northern Willow Glen, not with a commercial building for which the site is currently zoned, but with attached townhomes.
The Pulte Homes development, proposed for the corner of Willow Street and Delmas Ave., is only in the initial planning stages, said Denelle Fedor, aide to District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager. Pulte Homes Vice President Steve Kalmbach said they submitted plans to the city's planning department within the past two months and have yet to receive the department's formal report.
Representatives from Pulte Homes have met with neighbors on the surrounding streets about their plans. In their initial proposal, they planned to put approximately 32 units on a nearly two-acre property. The two- and three-story townhomes would be visible along the south side of Willow Street, from the Daybreak Cleaning Service office and around the southeast corner of Delmas Avenue.
Senior Planner Carol Hamilton said Pulte's revised plan included only 30 units.
Two existing single-family homes, three office buildings and a retail store would be torn down to make way for the development, said Patrick Mockler, senior investment associate with Marcus and Millichap Commercial Real Estate Investment. The site also includes an empty lot in the center of the block.
Mockler, who brokered the sale of the property from a local partnership to Pulte Homes, said the sale is scheduled to close escrow later this year.
Mockler said that the location, currently zoned for commercial uses in the city's General Plan, could also accommodate about 250 employees in a three-story office building. Instead, the property owners decided to sell to a residential developer, to keep the neighborhood's feel and reduce traffic impacts, he said.
"The sellers wanted to maintain what the neighbors wanted, which was housing," Mockler said.
At the meeting, neighbors were concerned about issues of parking in their mostly residential neighborhood, Kalmbach said. He said that each of the 1,300- to 1,700-square-foot townhomes will have its own two-car garage at street level.
Kalmbach said he expects the homes to sell for between $400,000 and $500,000.
Each townhome would have a living space on the ground floor in front of the garage, Kalmbach said. The rest of the home's interior will be located above the garage.
Willow Glen Neighborhood Association President J. Michael Gonzales said the association planned to send a letter to Pulte this week to make sure it takes into account the special needs of the community.
"We're certainly not opposed to the project," Gonzales said. "We want to make sure the that the developer understands what some of the historical issues are for infill development in Willow Glen. That area has been hit by several developments that have dropped out of Cupertino."
Gonzales said the association's three main concerns are traffic impacts on Delmas Avenue, how the architecture fits the surrounding area, and if three-story buildings are too tall for the neighborhood.
Kalmbach said Pulte Homes has been considering this development "off and on" for about a year.
"We like the area and we think it's going to be a great improvement to the neighborhood," he said. "It will tie into the theme of Willow Glen."
The homes will be designed in the style of many Willow Glen homes, Kalmbach said, and will include front stoops and porches and a "swooping" roofline.
"We think it's great looking," Kalmbach said. "We think it really fits in well with the whole Willow Glen neighborhood."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
