Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 8:15 PM
Subject: Brand New Shopping Center Only Costs $350 Million Dollars to Build
To: City Council <citycouncil@cupertino.org>, "City of Cupertino Planning Dept." planning@cupertino.org
[Please include this in Vallco EIR comment.]
Dear Councilmembers and Planning Commissioners,
I hope to share with you a wonderful brand new shopping center just built in Southern California: Village at Westfield Topanga.
It costs only $350 million to build and it also provides many community amenities, including a swimming pool, a gym, basketball court and a community center. And it's anchored by Costco.
We don't need a humongous office park in order to revitalize Vallco.
As one friend in commercial real estate told me, if a shopping center
is built as a fringe benefit for a project, it is a guaranteed failure.
Would Vallco Shopping District live up to its name as a part of The Hills at Vallco?
Does Sand Hill have any strategy or experience operating a shopping mall?
Would Sand Hill be able to attract upscale shops as promised?
Would Sand Hill be able to attract upscale shops as promised?
Has Sand Hill been able to furnish Main Street with upscale and vibrant shops that they've promised as the downtown of Cupertino?
What strategies are they using to attract shops to Main Street?
Would the same strategies apply to Vallco?
Would those strategies be able to operate and sustain a shopping center for the long run?
Would those strategies be able to operate and sustain a shopping center for the long run?
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If I am allowed to dream, Village at Westfield Topanga, just opened on Sept. 11, 2015 is the kind of shopping center, I wish for. An Outdoor garden with a creek running through it and anchored by Costco. It has a swimming pool, a gym with a view, basketball court and a community center.
The best part. Guess how much it costs to build? $350 million dollars.
Nice renderings here:
http://www.malls.com/us/malls/
More detailed description here:
http://www.4-traders.com/
...Just some points that I like:
+ The Village's main anchor tenant is Costco, on the south side of Victory at Owensmouth. The warehouse retailer that sells everything from fine wine to prescription drugs opened Saturday.
+ The new retail area consists of about 80 stores grouped into 11 categories ranging from restaurants to health and wellness, plus some service providers.
+ A clinic affiliated with UCLA Medical Center is part of the latter, as is a sprawling 24 Hour Fitness that anchors the south end of the property.
+ That three-story building has a large swimming pool on the second floor with windows that look onto a ridge line to the west, and the third-floor weight room offers a panoramic view of the Valley. There is also a basketball court.
+ The Village also has five health and fitness retailers, eight beauty and wellness retailers, five home furnishing stores, six jewelry and accessories stores, 11 clothing retailers, three electronics stores and financial firms and 12 specialty retailers.
http://www.malls.com/us/malls/
More detailed description here:
http://www.4-traders.com/
...Just some points that I like:
+ The Village's main anchor tenant is Costco, on the south side of Victory at Owensmouth. The warehouse retailer that sells everything from fine wine to prescription drugs opened Saturday.
+ The new retail area consists of about 80 stores grouped into 11 categories ranging from restaurants to health and wellness, plus some service providers.
+ A clinic affiliated with UCLA Medical Center is part of the latter, as is a sprawling 24 Hour Fitness that anchors the south end of the property.
+ That three-story building has a large swimming pool on the second floor with windows that look onto a ridge line to the west, and the third-floor weight room offers a panoramic view of the Valley. There is also a basketball court.
+ The Village also has five health and fitness retailers, eight beauty and wellness retailers, five home furnishing stores, six jewelry and accessories stores, 11 clothing retailers, three electronics stores and financial firms and 12 specialty retailers.
+ This is also a bocce ball court, long birthday table that can be used for parties and a book exchange area.
+ Lighted areas will be available for events and entertainment day or night, including exhibits by local artists and year-round music performances.
+ Pets are welcome, and bike racks and lockers are available for free. There are also showers available for people who bike to work and need to freshen up before heading to the office or store.
+ According to another article, it also includes a 8,000-square-foot community center with catering facility.
We don't need a humongous office park that doesn't benefit anyone.
With the green toupee peeled off, the Hills at Vallco is simply San Francisco downtown transported to Cupertino with some ramps to connect to rooftop.
Any glimpse of green is at 8-story tall (except when viewing from Perimeter Road).
We don't want and we don't need a $3-billion-dollar project.
I would rather that Sand Hill focus on how to design a shopping mall that people asked for (as their flyer shows). I would rather that Sand Hill does not spend so much money and time to pretend that they are building a shopping mall. They are building cell-block after cell-block of something, which appears to be downtown in a metropolitan area. Certainly not a cute downtown like Saratoga or Los Gatos.
+ Lighted areas will be available for events and entertainment day or night, including exhibits by local artists and year-round music performances.
+ Pets are welcome, and bike racks and lockers are available for free. There are also showers available for people who bike to work and need to freshen up before heading to the office or store.
+ According to another article, it also includes a 8,000-square-foot community center with catering facility.
We don't need a humongous office park that doesn't benefit anyone.
With the green toupee peeled off, the Hills at Vallco is simply San Francisco downtown transported to Cupertino with some ramps to connect to rooftop.
Any glimpse of green is at 8-story tall (except when viewing from Perimeter Road).
We don't want and we don't need a $3-billion-dollar project.
I would rather that Sand Hill focus on how to design a shopping mall that people asked for (as their flyer shows). I would rather that Sand Hill does not spend so much money and time to pretend that they are building a shopping mall. They are building cell-block after cell-block of something, which appears to be downtown in a metropolitan area. Certainly not a cute downtown like Saratoga or Los Gatos.
We don't need a downtown in Cupertino. We need a true shopping center.
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