The Cupertino skyline is set for a makeover as the City Council takes a bite out of the housing crisis by giving the green signal to The Rise, a sprawling mixed-use development to occupy the former site of Vallco Mall. Taking nearly a decade to get off the ground, the Sand Hill Property Co. project will cram 2,669 housing units, a chunk of office space, and some retail flavor into its master plan.
With an address a stone's throw away from Apple Park, The Rise is silicon-chipped to be a game changer for the cup of tea that is Cupertino's housing market. Nearly 900 units are earmarked as affordable housing for families with leaner wallets, as reported by SF YIMBY. Additionally, a dizzying 9,570 parking spaces are baked into this urban pudding to keep the car-centric Californians moving. However, with great parking comes great responsibility, so there's space for 3,361 bicycles, keeping those with a pedal preference in mind.
Though originally featuring sky-high ambitions of 240-foot residential towers, Sand Hill Property Co. scrapped those blueprints in favor of a more down-to-earth design to better blend with the city's style. Reed Moulds, managing director at Sand Hill, credits a brew of creative thinking and adaptability for keeping The Rise afloat amid a storm of economic pressures. Speaking to the Business Journal, Moulds expressed gratitude for the collaborative spirit that has defined the project's progress.
The project has seen its fair share of cuts and trims, with affordable homes being reduced from around 1,200 to 890 as part of the renewable plans. A beacon of downtown dynamism, The Rise is expected to put Cupertino on the urban renewal map while fulfilling more than half the city's housing obligations set by the state. But Moulds told the Business Journal that the once-envisioned green roof, spanning 29 acres, became tough to justify in the given economic milieu, describing the feature as increasingly difficult to build.
City Manager Pamela Wu underscored the importance of aligning The Rise with Cupertino's priorities, signaling her pleasure with the trajectory of the project. Wu informed the Business Journal that the approval marks a key milestone that reflects deep-rooted cooperation in addressing the community's housing needsproject's trajectory.
