New Downtown Sunnyvale (Santa Clara: real estate, apartments, loan)

[letitride]

I live in the shadow of the new downtown. I thought it was supposed to have the feel of a European promenade yet all I see are tall cement box structures, 5 redwood trees gasping for survival and a parking structure of great preeminence.
When they say "green" this must be a euphism because i don't see
any flora or fauna.


Maybe if there is a club with mad whirling dancers it will make up for it.

[gmkarr]

I believe the downtown is nowhere near finished yet. Here is a picture of what it is supposed to look like when it is done:

City of Sunnyvale

Here is a blog posting on the topic: » Downtown Sunnyvale Revitalization Gets Desperately Needed Kickstart-Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog, Bay Area: 1SiliconValley.com

I think it is very promising, and will add a lot of value to the city when it is finished. I love the tiny downtown that is there already, with great restaurants and a super farmer's market. It will just take time for them to develop the whole thing - it is a work in progress.

[pecanku]

Now it's almost 7 years later and downtown Sunnyvale looks quite good as it is - except for that "Skeleton" between Macy's and Target, which hasn't changed much since this posting was made.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by pecanku

Now it's almost 7 years later and downtown Sunnyvale looks quite good as it is - except for that "Skeleton" between Macy's and Target, which hasn't changed much since this posting was made.

Are the apartments adjacent to Target in litigation or something, they looked finished 2 years ago, but yet no one ever seemingly moved in, I'm sure with the job market today they would be filled up in 3 months and people would still pay over $2500/mo, so there must be something going on.

As for the skeleton next to Macy's, that must be under litigation if no one is doing anything to that lot. The apartments that replaced the Town and Country though look nice, and being next to a baby bullet stop doesn't hurt.

[darkeconomist]

There's this from the official page:

Contrary to prevailing thought, the redevelopment of the old Town Center Mall is not a City-owned project. Most of the property that was once the Town Center Mall is now owned by Wells Fargo Bank, with the exception of Macy’s and Target which are individually owned by those companies. Because the City does not own the property, it has little say in how or when development will occur.

Wells Fargo is not in the business of developing shopping centers. The only reason it owns the property is because it was the major lender to the previous owners of the Town Center Mall (RREEF and Sand Hill Properties/Peter Pau). When the previous owners defaulted on a loan from Wells Fargo, the bank took possession of the property

Sand Hill Properties believes it is legally entitled to play a continuing role in the development of the property, and has filed several lawsuits against Wells Fargo and RREEF in an effort to reclaim some control over the project. This litigation has been unsuccessful to date, but has resulted in stalling the project for years, and tying the hands of Wells Fargo Bank with regard to future progress.

[pecanku]

Thanks, that was very helpful! Regarding what's going on the Superbowl will take place in neighboring Santa Clara next year, I'm sure those apartments will be filled up soon.