The Cupertino Courier
News
Additional retail and parking is proposed at shopping center
By Cody Kraatz
Cupertino Village, a highly popular Asian-focused shopping center at Homestead and Wolfe roads in Cupertino, is due for an upgrade to accommodate tenants who have been clamoring to get in, according to its owner.
"It's a very popular center and...there was a critical mass of inquiries into expanding the center," said Brian Replinger, director of development for Kimco Redevelopment Group, which bought the center in March 2006 from Sand Hill Property Co.
"The tenants and the business community and the people that use the center would like to see more."
The proposal, which is still months away from approval, is for three one-story retail buildings totaling 24,455 square feet and a two-level parking garage that would rise one story along Linnet Lane in the rear of the center.
The garage would have ornamental masonry covered with vines and a screen on the top level so cars would not be visible.
The larger building would be adjacent to the garage, and the other two would fill in an existing driveway next to the Duke of Edinburgh restaurant, at 10801 N. Wolfe Road. Tenants would be retailers and restaurants.
Parking and traffic are the biggest obstacles.
The proposal calls for about 785 stalls, just shy of the 800 recommended according to the center's existing ratio. That could be fixed by limiting the amount of restaurant square footage, which creates more parking demand, said Gary Chao, Cupertino senior planner.
Spots are taken as soon as they open up on Saturdays, a parking study found. Replinger said there is a perception that parking is tight already, but that it is planned for average capacity and not the busiest times.
The Cupertino Planning Commission requested a supplemental parking and traffic study to determine whether shoppers are parking on Linnet, as many residents opposed to the project assert, or whether they come from the Good Samaritan Methodist Church, which does not have sufficient parking.
The study is due in mid-February and a special Environmental Review Committee meeting is tentatively set for Feb. 20.
Cupertino may also restrict access at the Homestead driveway so drivers may be allowed to enter only from and exit onto eastbound Homestead, said Chao, noting that congestion there existed before the proposed expansion.
About 16 Cupertino and Sunnyvale residents who live west and north of the center spoke against the expansion at a November 2007 Cupertino Planning Commission meeting. Their concerns included parking, construction noise, trash, shopping carts and pedestrian access to their neighborhood.
"It's our intention to be good neighbors and enhance the project and experience there. And we think our plan does that," said Replinger.
Kimco is a publicly traded owner and operator of more than 1,500 shopping centers throughout 45 states and the Americas.
Call the Cupertino Planning Department at 408.777.3308 or e-mail planning@cupertino.org for more information.