The Cupertino Courier

Hotel developer strikes $1 million deal with city

City Council assures construction, requires a substantial deposit

By Pam Marino

The developer of a much-wanted hotel put $1 million on the line to satisfy wary Cupertino officials, who were worried that construction might take too long or that the hotel might not get built at all.

Sand Hill Properties has a proposal before the city to build the 171-room Hilton Garden Inn at the corner of Wolfe Road and Pruneridge Avenue, along with 201 apartments and seven single-family homes. City officials were reluctant to give Sand Hill the go-ahead on the apartments before the hotel was built, which led to negotiations over the last few weeks between Sand Hill and the city.

At a council meeting in August, Mike Anderson of Sand Hill offered to guarantee the city $1 million if the hotel foundation was not poured within one year from the start of construction on the apartments.

At last week's council meeting, the City Council accepted an agreement that assures the company will hand over $1 million for the city to collect interest on if hotel construction does not start when building permits are issued. If construction on the hotel does not begin within 240 days from that point, the city keeps the money as liquidated damages.

City staff members urged the council to make the deadline 120 days, but fears of El Niño weather and other construction delays led three council-members, Mayor John Bautista, Don Burnett and Michael Chang, to vote in favor of the 240-day limit. Council-members Wally Dean and Lauralee Sorensen agreed with the staff recommendation.

"I couldn't even remodel my kitchen in 120 days," Burnett said.

Plans for the hotel and apartments are being checked by the city Planning Department and could be ready for permits within the next several weeks. Anderson said the company plans to get the hotel and apartment foundations poured as soon as possible before the rainy season starts.

The agreement approved last week ended months of negotiations between city officials, who want the hotel and the tax income it can bring in, and Sand Hill. Worried the city would be left with a concrete slab should the company be unable to complete the project, officials asked for several conditions from Sand Hill to make sure the hotel was completed. At one point Anderson complained that the conditions were endangering the entire deal, since the company was still in the process of purchasing the land from Tandem Computers.

[ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ]