Downtown Cupertino in the works
Sand Hill Properties plans to revamp last empty lot in Cupertino, Suggests ideas
Dahlia Seroussi
Issue date: 6/2/08 Section: News
The last empty parcel of land in Cupertino is being sized up for a possible downtown project to be built in a few years after approval of a master plan.
At a May 20 Cupertino City Council meeting, Sand Hill Properties presented a status report on its master plan for revamping the property.
Inspired by streets like University Avenue in Palo Alto and Castro Street in Mountain View, the project's architect, Ken Rodrigues, said that Finch Avenue, parallel to Wolfe Road and perpendicular to Vallco Parkway, could be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly strip of retail stores and restaurants.
An asset of these downtown streets is their friendliness toward bicyclists, who Rodrigues hopes to attract to Cupertino. He also hopes the street could be blocked off occasionally for events and parades, while maintaining access for pedestrians.
Gary Layman, the project's landscape architect, hopes to incorporate Cupertino's agrarian past into the landscape with a focus on more tree-lined paths along which pedestrians could walk.
Resident Jeff Kidder said he wants to be able to ask, "What stroll would you like to take?"
Cupertino councilmember Gilbert Wong said rather than just locating the downtown on Finch, the community might want to include portions of it on Vallco Parkway, which is more visible. His colleague Mark Santoro, concerned that a downtown project located on Finch would increase traffic in the surrounding area, suggested there should be parking on Vallco Parkway with retail underneath to prevent such an issue.
In addition, council member Kris Wang suggested that the intersection of Vallco and Wolfe have a diagonal walkway so that people can walk from the Rose Bowl portion of the mall (where the Strikes bowling alley is located) to the movie theater at night.
However, Sand Hill Properties is hesitant to branch out to Vallco Parkway. Rodrigues said that as long as it remains a busy four-lane street, Vallco Parkway will never be a downtown. Nonetheless, Sand Hill is not discounting development on Stevens Creek Boulevard, which sustains far heavier daily traffic than Vallco Parkway.
At a May 20 Cupertino City Council meeting, Sand Hill Properties presented a status report on its master plan for revamping the property.
Inspired by streets like University Avenue in Palo Alto and Castro Street in Mountain View, the project's architect, Ken Rodrigues, said that Finch Avenue, parallel to Wolfe Road and perpendicular to Vallco Parkway, could be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly strip of retail stores and restaurants.
An asset of these downtown streets is their friendliness toward bicyclists, who Rodrigues hopes to attract to Cupertino. He also hopes the street could be blocked off occasionally for events and parades, while maintaining access for pedestrians.
Gary Layman, the project's landscape architect, hopes to incorporate Cupertino's agrarian past into the landscape with a focus on more tree-lined paths along which pedestrians could walk.
Resident Jeff Kidder said he wants to be able to ask, "What stroll would you like to take?"
Cupertino councilmember Gilbert Wong said rather than just locating the downtown on Finch, the community might want to include portions of it on Vallco Parkway, which is more visible. His colleague Mark Santoro, concerned that a downtown project located on Finch would increase traffic in the surrounding area, suggested there should be parking on Vallco Parkway with retail underneath to prevent such an issue.
In addition, council member Kris Wang suggested that the intersection of Vallco and Wolfe have a diagonal walkway so that people can walk from the Rose Bowl portion of the mall (where the Strikes bowling alley is located) to the movie theater at night.
However, Sand Hill Properties is hesitant to branch out to Vallco Parkway. Rodrigues said that as long as it remains a busy four-lane street, Vallco Parkway will never be a downtown. Nonetheless, Sand Hill is not discounting development on Stevens Creek Boulevard, which sustains far heavier daily traffic than Vallco Parkway.
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