There are now tall old Redwood trees and shiny new buildings in downtown Sunnyvale. This is almost the end of a city plan that has been in the works for decades to improve the area.
On Wednesday afternoon, city officials, real estate agents, and locals gathered at Redwood Square to enjoy the reopening of the one-acre public park that had been fixed up. The park has a grassy area, a rectangular waterfall, and a number of trees.
The cityline block includes the square. The Cityline block is 36 acres in size and is bounded by South Mathilda and Sunnyvale Avenues and Washington and Iowa Avenues.
It includes The Martin, a 12-story building with 479 luxury apartments and two 7-story business buildings. The two buildings were both finished earlier this year.
This group is made up of two real estate companies: Hunter Partners in Cupertino and Sares Regis Group of Northern California in San Mateo.
Historical Murphy Avenue, Downtown Core, Plaza Del Sol, and Redwood Square are all part of the city’s 150-acre downtown area plans that go back to 2003.
Like most of the Cityline, the square took the place of a two-story underground mall that was in the downtown area for 30 years.
The mall was torn down, and work on a new one was supposed to begin until the economic downturn in 2008 put a stop to things.
For years, the area had an unfinished steel skeleton lying out in the open. In 2016, the city tore down the building to make room for new buildings. Together, the city and the two firms worked on the Cityline projects.
Dave Hopkins, co-president of Sares Regis Group of Northern California, said, “That was our goal: to finish a downtown and build something that could be a landmark and second to no other place in Silicon Valley.”
As the need for more residential and commercial space in the region grew in 2020, the council updated the plan to include more mixed-use developments.
They did this to make it easier to find higher-density housing, areas that are good for walking and biking, and retail, service, and entertainment spaces that are close to public transit.
Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein remembered how hard everyone worked in 2003 to get rid of the mall and build something that would represent a new centre. He said the end result was better than the city could have hoped for.
“That vision is finally realised today, and it is even better than we thought it would be,” he said Wednesday as he stood in the finished square.
“The grand opening of Redwood Square is more than just another important event; it is a time for everyone to feel incredibly proud and successful.”
The finished block joins other downtown renovations that include Target, AMC Theatres, Whole Foods, four parking garages, the Flats and The Flats West apartment buildings and many other grocery, entertainment and shop stores.
Cityline is not done yet, though. Along South Mathilda Avenue, people will soon be able to see a six-story office building with shops on the ground floor and underground parking.
Director of development for Hunter Partners Joshua Rupert said that the city and companies are excited to finish the plans for the future projects.
“This is an opportunity that will never come up again for a developer like me,” he said Wednesday. “I promise this will not happen again, and I look forward to the chance to improve downtown and make it something we can all be proud of.”
