A brick-and-mortar location for Internet-based grocery shopping should open in Sunnyvale by the end of the year.
Developers with Oppidan plan to build an 11,600-square-foot retail space at 777 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road that will be occupied by a Web-based grocery store by the end of the year if everything goes as planned.
The project was approved by Sunnyvale city staff last week, and construction could start near the end of August.
According to city staff project planner Ryan Kuchenig, the project doesn’t require planning commission or city council review unless plans are appealed by the public.
The appeal period for this project ends July 31.
Site owners and representatives are withholding the identity of the tenant until construction is underway.
According to city documents related to the project, the proposed use of the site is “a grocery retail business where customers would utilize the Internet to pre-order their grocery and retail items. When placing an order, customers will have the option of scheduling a specific 15-minute to two-hour pick-up window.”
After ordering items online, customers can arrive at the site by car, bicycle or on foot to collect and pay for their items. For vehicles, a structure with eight stalls will be built for customers to have their grocery items delivered to them by store employees. For bicyclists and those on foot, the ordered items can be retrieved inside the store.
What will separate the proposed store from typical grocery and big box stores is that customers will not be able to peruse the aisles.
Store hours would be daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., the business is expected to employ about 15 people. Grocery pick-up times will be staggered to avoid parking lot traffic jams, according to project representatives.
The store will be located next to an Orchard Supply Hardware store, and a portion of an outdoor storage yard will be demolished to allow room for the new building. The OSH will remain at that location, and there are plans to remodel the interior and exterior of the building under an unrelated permit.
The city of Sunnyvale held a meeting on July 15 that saw city staff ask questions to representatives of the applicant, Ware Malcomb, the owner, Mardit Properties, LP and the developer, Oppidan.
Questions and concerns voiced by city staff included vehicle and bicycle parking, landscaping, signage and construction requirements.
Residents who attended the meeting also had similar concerns and wondered about construction times and noise, as well as traffic.
A concept similar to the proposed Sunnyvale store was developed and tested by Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon last year in Bentonville, Arkansas. Roger Bernstein, an Oppidan project representative told this publication that the new Sunnyvale tenant will not be affiliated with Walmart.
For more information email rkuchenig@sunnyvale.ca.gov.
