Development at Cupertino's old Vallco Shopping Mall site finally moves ahead
The city of Cupertino has finally reached an agreement with the property owner of the old Vallco Shopping Mall site that lets a long-gestating project to build thousands of housing units move forward.
The city first approved a project to redevelop the Vallco Mall back in 2018. Most recently, there was a dispute over impact fees. The project includes almost 2,700 housing units, with almost a third of those designated as affordable-housing units.
It also includes space for retail and nearly two million square feet of office space.
Like many longtime valley residents, Holder's Country Inn owner Efren Flores Flores has fond memories of Vallco Mall.
"When they first knocked it down, it was kind of emotional for me, because I grew up in the area," said Flores. "I used to go to Sears when I got my first vehicle. I got it serviced across the street. My favorite movie theater was across the street."
But now, as a nearby restaurant owner, he's looking forward to the arrival of thousands of new neighbors just across the street.
"You know, it's going to bring a lot more business," Flores predicted."Not just for us, but for everybody in the community. It's going to be a great thing for the city of Cupertino as well. A lot of residents, a lot of housing."
Getting here, of course, took some effort and time.
"It took a while to get everything approved," he laughed,
"In 2014, 2015, 2016, we worked to try to come up with proposals," explained former Cupertino City Council member Rod Sinks. "By 2018 we had negotiated a plan."
Sinks is a veteran of the years-long battle over Vallco.
"It's certainly been contentious over time," he recalled.
The Council did have a plan in 2018, crafted under California's SB 35. But then the project ran into a raft of challenges as a group of neighbors sued, and a subsequent city council wavered amid public pushback.
Ultimately, the 2018 project was downsized, dropping a list of community benefits and hundreds of homes. Sinks and many South Bay housing advocates call the original design an opportunity lost.
"The legislature has continued to insist through laws coming every year that it's time for cities to build housing," Sinks said. "I think cities, including Cupertino, need to get on board with that."
"It's great news," Flores said for his business.
It's also the biggest thing to come to Cupertino since the arrival of the other notable neighbors just across 280. In fact "The Rise" as it's named, is being billed as Cupertino's new town center.
"Lucky thing for us is we are right in the center of it," Flores said. "Right on the corner with everything else and it's a great opportunity for us."
Developers have said that work to prepare the site for the utilities is already underway. As for when it might be finished, depending on economic conditions, completion might come sometime in 2028.