After facing cuts and years of delays, the largest housing project in Cupertino’s history has won long-awaited city approval for a mixed-use development on the former Vallco Town Center site.
The Rise, a mixed-use development at the corner of Wolfe Road and Stevens Creek Boulevard spans 50 acres. The development will include 2,669 apartments and homes, with more than seven acres of public parks and gathering spaces and about 230,000 square feet of commercial space. The project received approval from the city’s community development department on Friday.
Tina Kapoor, deputy city manager, said the development shows the city’s commitment to the needs of the community.
“It is offering residents a full range of housing options that adapt to the changing needs of our demographically and economically diverse population,” he told San José Spotlight.
Palo Alto-based developer Sand Hill Property Company will begin work in the coming months once it obtains the necessary permits.
After a decade of delays and community disputes, Sand Hill said the project is an important step for the community.
“The market forces that have continued to impact projects across the Bay Area over the past 18 months have brought us all to new levels of creativity and adaptability, and have brought forth an even deeper commitment to working together to ensure make this project successful,” Reed Molds CEO Sand Hill said in a news release.
Last December, the company submitted documents to request a modification of the project to Cupertino planning officials. reduce development.
Changes to the original proposal included more housing, but a one-third decrease in affordable housing to 890 apartments. The developer eliminated rooftop parking and went from seven residential towers to three, all under 240 feet. Commercial space decreased from nearly 430,000 square feet to approximately 230,000 square feet and office space decreased slightly from approximately 1.98 million square feet to approximately 1.95 million square feet.
This digital rendering shows what a portion of the dining and retail spaces would look like at The Rise, a 50-acre planned development on the former Vallco Mall site. Image courtesy of Sand Hill Property Company.
The development also sparked multiple lawsuits, referendums and division between factions of residents and city leaders who supported or opposed it.
In 2018, the Cupertino City Council approved a version of development plans that complied with Senate Bill 35, a then-new state law intended to expedite approvals for housing projects that conform to Cupertino planning and zoning rules. the city and meet certain criteria. The proposal included a massive package of community benefits, such as a new building for the town hall. But legal challenges delayed and threatened the project, and planning officials proposed and approved a redesigned project without those benefits in March 2022. The city has since regained SB 35 status for the project.
Rhoda Fry, a Cupertino resident for more than 40 years, said she is concerned about the decline in affordable housing and building energy use, citing its environmental impact. She said she wants the Cupertino City Council to step up.
“Our city council needs to develop a backbone,” he told San José Spotlight. “It’s an environmental issue, a public safety issue and an affordability issue.”
Mayor Sheila Mohan is a supporter of the project and said it reflects Cupertino’s goals as a city.
“The approval is a testament to Cupertino’s dedication to fostering sustainable growth while striking a balance between progress and compliance with state law,” he told San José Spotlight.
The Rise will meet more than half of the city’s housing obligations, part of the city’s housing element requirement that must be submitted every eight years and sets out how it will accommodate housing needs. Cupertino must add 4,588 homes (1,880 of which must be considered affordable) by 2031.
The city is expected to have a housing element approved this April, after missing the state’s deadline for more than a year and settling a ruling with housing advocates last month.
Kapoor said the development will increase the vitality of the city.
“We’re looking to the future and bringing more resilience to the community,” he said.
Contact Annalize Freimarck at [email protected] follow him @analise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
2024-02-18 06:59:10
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