The Cupertino Courier

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Apartment complex could expand by 117 new units

By Cody Kraatz

The Cupertino Environmental Review Committee reviewed Prometheus Real Estate Group's preliminary plans to redevelop approximately 25 acres of apartments on Homestead Road near Stelling Road.

The group includes the smaller Grove complex in the development of the much larger Villa Serra complex, which would create a total of 505 apartments in the end.

Plans call for 117 new apartments, a public park and a central complex that includes a new pool, an entertainment lounge that seats 16 people, a fitness center, a leasing center and kitchen facilities. The group will also renovate the exteriors of the 39 existing buildings.

The design is still in its preliminary stages, but is set for a planning commission hearing on June 12. Construction could begin at the earliest in the summer of 2008.

The buildings along Homestead Road and Stelling Road will have a more modern design than the nearly 40-year-old complex. All the new buildings will be two stories tall, to match the existing ones.

"By doing this you are going to make the property look like a brand-new property," said Mike Ducote, development manager for the group.

The plans require three variances because they do not meet the city's setback requirements. They are more pedestrian-friendly this way and allow parking spaces underneath them, said Ducote.

A public park with grass, shade, benches and a "tot lot" is slated for the corner of Franco Court and Homestead Road, where tennis courts and a Cupertino public works facility currently sit. The city would have to move trailers that operate the traffic signals in that area, as well as cover a well.

"At the end of the day, you'll end up with a park here," said Ducote. Future negotiations with the city will determine whether the group pays to design, build and maintain it while the city ultimately owns it.

The project would have to include a park to conform to city requirements, said Therese Smith, director of parks and recreation.

"This is an area that's deficient, and this is an opportunity to fix that," she said.

Ducote said the group's owner is interested in looking into environmentally friendly building designs, including solar-assisted heating for the pools and some photovoltaic panels on the roofs. He said he attended a recent planning commission meeting that looked at the city's environmental sustainability plan.

The site has a 21-unit-per-acre density that would increase to 35 units per acre with the new apartments. Fifteen percent of the new units are required by city rules to be rented below market rate.

In 2002, the group proposed a redevelopment plan to add 270 units that fell through because the economy did not support the project, said Jon Moss, senior vice president of development for the group. Prometheus owns the Cupertino City Center, The Biltmore and other apartment complexes in the area.

For more information, visit the Prometheus website at www.prometheusreg.com and click on the residential properties link. Various apartment rating websites have information about local apartments.