On Friday, June 22nd, the proposal to redevelop the dilapidated Vallco Mall in Cupertino reached a critical milestone. The project received its 90-day compliance letter from the City of Cupertino, which certifies its eligibility for streamlining under Senate Bill (SB) 35 and allows it to continue to move forward in the development process.
“SV@Home is thrilled to see that Cupertino is moving forward with the redevelopment of the 50-acre site at Vallco Mall,” said Silicon Valley at Home (SV@Home) Executive Director Leslye Corsiglia. “We’re now one step closer to housing at least 2,402 families in a community at the center of Silicon Valley.”
The Vallco Town Center project represents the first successful demonstration project for the implementation of SB 35, a key bill from last year’s landmark state housing legislation package.
The legislation, spearheaded by State Senators Scott Wiener and Toni Atkins, streamlines local residential projects, provided a certain percentage of the newly built units are designated as affordable, giving the community a much-needed tool to meet our urgent housing needs.
The Vallco SB 35 project will create 360 homes and 841 homes for families earning less than $65,000 and $94,500, respectively. In addition, through enforcement of the City’s non-residential impact fee requirements, Vallco will generate at least $39.5 million that will go to additional affordable housing in the future.
According to SV@Home Deputy Director Pilar Lorenzana, “SB 35 was a bold response by the legislature and the Vallco proposal is a timely answer to a very dire, some would say catastrophic, housing situation.”
At the same time, the City-led specific planning process continues to gather input from the community on a parallel track. We expect the draft specific plan will be available for public comment sometime in July.
While today’s announcement is one piece of good news, we need you to stay engaged.
Please sign up for our newsletter to stay abreast of opportunities to ensure housing affordability for all at Vallco.
If you’re interested in learning about other ways you might be able to get involved, please reach out to David Meyer, SV@Home’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager, at david@svathome.org.