Planned Santa Clara 50-Story Hi-Rise Development Getting Downsized
SANTA CLARA (KPIX 5) -- The sky is apparently not the limit in Santa Clara. A Chinese developer's plans for a 50-story office high rise would have been the tallest building in the South Bay.
China-based developer Kylli wanted to build a 600 foot high, 50 story building on a 48 acre site on Old Ironsides Way.
It's planned as a mixed use development called Mission Point, with office buildings, apartments, retail, parks and plazas. But neighbors and city officials are not backing the plans.
"I think it's a crazy idea. It doesn't go with any of the existing architecture," said Marilyn Hyland who works in Santa Clara and lives in San Jose.
"I like the status quo. I don't want this to become such a huge place, although I know we are right in Silicon Valley," said Lu, a long time resident of the city.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor voiced concerns about the project's impact on traffic.
"As one councilmember said, 'It's like dropping a New York City block in the city of Santa Clara," Gillmor said.
Kylli did not respond to an email request for comment. But community pushback sent the developer back to the drawing board.
The 50-story building in the earlier drawings was cut down to 20 or 30 stories. But the overall size of the project stayed the same at a hefty 10 million square feet. That's seven million more than the council first approved.
Mayor Gillmor says a project of that size without a significant new traffic plan would create gridlock.
"The height is one, but it's really a question of are we going to be able to move in North Santa Clara if we develop that kind of density?"
The project is still in its early stages. An environmental impact statement is due later this year. It's unclear when the final project proposal will come before the Santa Clara City Council.
