A massive project that is set to take over the site of the Vallco shopping mall in Cupertino is now on track to start construction in the next few months. The giant mixed-use project is called The Rise, and the most unique aspect of the development is not the scope, but that it will contain the world’s largest green roof which will span 29-acres and be open to the public as reported by the SF Chronicle. The $4 billion, 50-acre project, which is being designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects, will also feature 7-million square feet of new buildings. In its entirety, The Rise will be more than double the size of Apple Park which is right on the other side of the 280 freeway.
Rendering Credit: Sand Hill Property Co./Rafael Vinoly Architects
The project will include 2,400 housing residences with 1,200 of them earmarked as affordable units. The managing director of the project, Sand Hill Properties, told the Mercury News that developers have “increased the number of one-bedroom affordable apartments to 537. There will also be 103 two-bedroom and three-bedroom affordable units, which will help provide housing to families, many of whom struggle to find accommodations in the pricey Silicon Valley suburb.”
As with most projects of this magnitude, construction will happen in phases. Phase One will contain roughly 800 housing units along with a majority of the 429,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and much of the open space development. Construction of the first phase is expected to take about three years to finish. The almost 2 million square feet of office space will be built as part of later phases.
Rendering Credit: Sand Hill Property Co./Rafael Vinoly Architects
Reed Moulds of Sand Hill Properties says his company is in the process of looking for retailers, restauranteurs, and entertainment venue managers to sign leases for all the news space. There are also potential plans for an ice skating rink and bowling alley. “The Rise is born from the global capital of innovation. Silicon Valley has changed the way the world lives, and The Rise aspires to fundamentally change how Silicon Valley lives,” Moulds told the Mercury News.
Rendering Credit: Sand Hill Property Co./Rafael Vinoly Architects
The Rise has not escaped controversy and legal battles over the past few years. Early on, Cupertino residents tried to stop the project over concerns that it will create traffic nightmares. A group known as Friends of Better Cupertino sued developers with the claim that The Rise didn’t have enough affordable housing to qualify for SB 35, a state law that allows developments to streamline approval processes if the projects contain 50% affordable housing. The Rise fought and won the right to move on.
A recent new legal challenge has emerged but is not holding the project back. The Mercury News reports that “the most recent major obstacle is the removal of toxic contamination from chemicals that have laced the soil due to the operation of a Sears automotive shop and dry cleaning establishments on the site. Sand Hill Property is moving forward with remediation of the contamination.”
