Retail and Housing Projects for the Eastern Portion of City on Council Agenda

Get ready for change. Besides the , the city is looking at a new load of retail spaces and housing units coming down the pike, the Cupertino City Council heard at its meeting on Tuesday.

While some familiar spots may be pushed out (Chili's could leave by year's end after more than three decades in Cupertino), new retail faces are coming in. Apple is adding a new cafeteria at the cite of a former Japanese restaurant.

Besides , and figuring out what to do about , the council also gave direction to staff on projects, as well as voted on a new contract with Lifetime Tennis at the Sports Center.

Here’s a wrap-up.

Project Updates

The council met in the afternoon for a study session on its 2011/2012 Work Program, basically a run down of city projects and private development happening in the city. See the city’s website for a complete list of projects.

• Apple: The draft environmental impact report for the new Apple II campus is due out this summer; the project should head to council in a November/December time frame. The company submitted plans for a 19,000 square foot company cafeteria at the corner of Bandley and Alves drives, formerly occupied by Tomakazu Restaurant. That project should be heard by Planning Commission in April.
• Cupertino Crossroads: Council members expressed disappointment that a bar was included in the Islands Restaurant after they voted on the project last year. Director of Community Development Aarti Shrivastava said she believed it was a misunderstanding between the city and the project’s architect, due to uncertainty over whether Islands would be the company occupying the space. The matter was subsequently discussed and approved by the Planning Commission last week. Councilmember Barry Chang said he might appeal the decision within the next week to meet the 14-day deadline for filing appeals. Shrivastava said TJ Maxx and Homegoods are opening soon; Party City is coming into the third available space in the former Mervyn’s building.
• Sand Hill Properties Site, known as the Main Street Project: The owners applied for a modified permit that will go before council on March 27. The original permit was for 150,000 square feet of retail, a 145,000 square foot athletic club, a 250-room hotel, and 160 senior housing units. The modified project includes 292,000 square feet of office space, 78,700 square feet of retail, a 60,000 square foot athletic club, a 180-room hotel, 143 senior age-restricted condominium units and a 105-unit market-rate apartment complex. One resident complained that the Sand Hill representatives had met with residents but incorporated zero of their suggestions, and reminded council that voters in the past rejected the idea of increased housing in that portion of the city.
• Prometheus/Biltmore projects: Chili’s may be razed near the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Blaney Avenue if this project proceeds. The Prometheus company wants to build a multi-family residential project in the back and a commercial project in the front. The project does not affect the falafel restaurant (formerly Cisero’s Pizza) on the corner.
• Vallco: Bay Club, an up-scale 67,0000-square-foot athletic club, is under construction in a portion of the Sears building and is scheduled to open this spring. The council lamented that Vallco continues to be a "dead mall", but staff said there really isn't much the city can do about the privately-owned site, especially now that the
• Rose Bowl site: This parcel near Vallco that will include 60,000 square feet of retail and 204 residential units is under construction; the permit for the “super structure”, the structure above the basement will be issued soon.
• Lawrence-Mitty Park: a county parcel west of Lawrence Expressway now being used for materials storage by the Santa Clara County Department of Roads and Airports is being eyed as a continuation of the San Tomas Aquino Trail.
• Stevens Creek Trail: Representatives from Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Los Altos and Mountain View are meeting regularly to consider a continuation of the Stevens Creek Trail from Mountain View into Sunnyvale, Los Altos and Cupertino. A consultant will be working this year to come up with an alignment. Sunnyvale is contributing the most money to the project, although the rest of the cities are also contributing.
• Lehigh reclamation/expansion project: The council agreed to set aside for the moment money previously approved for a water study, saying a study would probably add little benefit at this time. The city will continue to monitor the situation.
• Rancho San Antonio County Park flood control basin: The Santa Clara Valley Water District is planning to construct a flood control basin in Rancho San Antonio County Park along Permanente Creek. The project is not on city land, but is within the city’s sphere of influence. Councilmember Orrin Mahoney reported that he suggested the 3,000 diesel truck trips for hauling soil that would have impacted Cupertino streets be instead routed through the back of the park to Lehigh Southwest Cement. The excess soil would be dumped on Lehigh’s property.

Lifetime Tennis

The council approved a new contract with Lifetime Tennis for instruction at the Sports Center. The company has run the tennis program there since 1994. On the same night the City of Sunnyvale approved a contract with Lifetime. Mahoney asked owner Dana Gill if he had the scale to do both, to which Gill replied “Absolutely.” Gill said the company started in Cupertino, adding, “our home is here, our base is here.”