After months of planning and community outreach, Central Expressway and Wolfe Road will officially be home to a brand-spanking new tech campus that looks like something out of a “Star Trek” episode.
The futuristic campus will be Sunnyvale’s fifth development to meet LEED platinum certification, the highest rating in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The Sunnyvale City Council on Oct. 14 approved the 777,000-square-foot campus proposed by developers Landbank, Cassidy Turley and CB Richard Ellis after three hours of discussion, including more than a dozen public speakers.
The majority of the speakers–including two former Sunnyvale mayors and local electricians–favored the project, while a handful of residents shared concerns about the affect on traffic and the overall size of the project.
The 18-acre-site would be transformed from nine one-story buildings to three four-story connected office buildings and a two-story standalone amenities building that could be leased to one, two or three tenants.
The campus aims to attract tech startups as tenants, with amenities ranging from a cafeteria and fitness center to a coffee bar and barber shop. Other possible uses named in the application include a bicycle repair shop, dry cleaner, and health and wellness options.
The campus boasts having no surface parking and more than 90,000 square feet of rooftop gardens.
Due to the size of the plan, however, the project is anticipated to draw more than 3,000 daily car trips.
To help mitigate the impacts of the increase in car trips, a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan is required for the project to reduce the number of peak hour and average daily vehicle trips.
Per the Sunnyvale Planning Commission’s request, the developer has agreed to reduce the amount of trips by 35 percent, up from the previously required 30 percent reduction.
“When I first heard about this project, I struggled with the size and the rezoning,” Councilman Gustav Larsson said during the council meeting. “I think this developer has been remarkably responsive to requests from the city, and it’s that kind of commitment and enthusiasm that speaks volumes.”
Developers touted the project’s overall benefits to the city, including new bike paths and sidewalks, two public bus pads, an estimated 1,937 new jobs, $1 million designated for off-site transit improvements, an estimated draw of $4.7 million in annual property tax (up from $285,000), and about $1.9 million annually earmarked for Sunnyvale schools due to the increase in property taxes.
“This is a real opportunity,” Larry Stone, county assessor and former Sunnyvale mayor, said during public comment. “This is an extraordinary design and is the most environmental, sustainable LEED project I have ever encountered here with a real sense of place. I hate traffic congestion, but traffic reflects jobs.”
The final vote was 5-2, with council members Dave Whittum and Pat Meyering dissenting.
Sunnyvale resident Holly Lofgren requested Councilwoman Tara Martin-Milius recuse herself from the vote, as her campaign manager for office was Pat Castillo, who is a consultant to Landbank. Martin-Milius did not.
Instead, she disclosed she had met with the developer and did accept $500 from the company during a campaign fundraiser.
Ideally, Landbank CEO Scott Jacobs said he hopes the project will be completed within 29 months from the end of October, with demolition beginning in the first quarter of next year.
“Our close work with city staff and the community have helped make this project even better,” Jacobs said. “And when you bring all the extraordinary project elements together that we’ve incorporated into the Central and Wolfe campus, what you get is smart growth.”
For more information on the project, visit centralandwolfe.com.