Plans Revealed For New Town Center, 2,400 Homes On Former Vallco Mall Site In Cupertino

CUPERTINO (KPIX 5) – Most of the 50-acre former Vallco site in the heart of Cupertino has been cleared down to bare land, ready for an all-new development plan after years of legal wrangling.

"We are introducing today The Rise, which is a mixed-use, mixed-income project in the heart of Cupertino that is going to serve as the city's the new town center," said Reed Moulds of Sand Hill Property Company, which is developing the property.

Plans call for 429,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment spaces arranged in districts that developers hope will form Cupertino's new downtown.

The Rise will include also more than 2,400 homes, half of which will be below market rate, satisfying Cupertino's housing obligations to the state for the next eight years.

"We're going to have housing for all. There will be housing for the workforce, housing for families.  There's going to be affordable housing, there's going to be market rate housing, there's going to be for sale, for rent housing here. And so we're going to have a number of people that are looking for new housing options that will be able to be here," Moulds told KPIX 5.

The project will also include 1.2 million square feet of office/lab space.

There will be a 29-acre green roof – the largest in the world – and over six miles of trails, bike paths and play fields.

"Do I like the tax base that this represents? Absolutely," said Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul.

But Paul is concerned about the regional infrastructure needed to support such as project, with transportation at the top of the list.

"This is 50 acres right here and we're putting 2,400 units of housing. But the project itself needs more like 6,000 units of housing to offset the impact. Then we have a deficit. We have a regional deficit," Paul told KPIX 5.

The project is planned to be built out in phases over the next several years with the first phase to include the housing, retail, and restaurants.

Office and lab complexes will be built in later years, according to plans.