Sunnyvale Town Center

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Sunnyvale Town Center was a 36-acre[1] two-level shopping mall located in Sunnyvale, California, USA. It was anchored by Macy's, Target, and J.C. Penney. As of March 2013, only the Target and Macy's stores remain operational: much of the mall consists of a construction site on which work is stalled as a result of a legal dispute.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

[edit] History

The mall, bounded by Mathilda Avenue, Washington Avenue, Sunnyvale Avenue, and Iowa Avenue, opened in 1979. Over the years, the development went through a series of owners who either defaulted on loans, or were sued for breach of contract. During that time, the mall fell into decline with changing tastes of shoppers and the emergence of newer and larger competitors. Finally, in 2007, new entities named "Downtown Sunnyvale Mixed Use LLC" (DSMU) and "Downtown Sunnyvale Residential LLC" (DSR) took over the mall. DSMU and DSR were partnerships between Silicon Valley developer Peter Pau's Sand Hill Property Co. (which owned about 5%), and RREEF, a real-estate management business owned by Deutsche Bank (which owned the remaining 95%). DSMU/DSR's goal was to redevelop the mall into a high-end retail, residential and office development similar to San Jose's successful Santana Row.[9] Plans for the projected development, which would have included a movie theater, remain on the City of Sunnyvale's website.[10]

DSMU/DSR took out a loan of $108.8 million from Wachovia Bank; Wachovia was later acquired by Wells Fargo.[11] By June 2009, DSMU/DSR defaulted on the loan. Peter Pau claims that the decision to default was made by RREEF without his consent.[11] After the default, Wells Fargo started foreclosure proceedings. A foreclosure auction in August 2011 attracted no bidders, so Wells Fargo took possession of the property itself.[9][1] The bank then attempted to sell the land to another developer, but this attempt was thwarted by a lawsuit from Pau.[11] Ever since, further development has been thwarted by the ongoing litigation between Pau and Wells Fargo. In May 2012, the City of Sunnyvale issued a press release accusing Pau of having filed "delaying lawsuits that have served little purpose other than to hold the project hostage",[11][12] and claiming that "a nationally-recognized development team was set to come in and finish the project in 2011 ... until the barrage of lawsuits blocked their entry".[12] In February 2013, further appeals were filed by both Pau and Wells Fargo; Pau's attorney estimated that the appeals would delay resolution of the case by at least two years.[13]

[edit] Current status

As of March 2013, the only active tenants of the mall (apart from Target and Macy's) are Apple and Nokia, which have occupied office space along Mathilda Ave.[13] The remaining retail and entertainment space is still under construction, and the residential units are empty.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Alia (August 18, 2011). "No bidders for Sunnyvale Town Center means project in hands of Wells Fargo". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved August 18, 2011. 
  2. ^ Nick Hoff (September 21, 2002). "When suburban goes urban". InTheFray Magazine. Inthefray.org. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  3. ^ Conrad, Katherine (2010-01-29). "Sunnyvale Town Center gets buttoned down as options are weighed". Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: (Sanjose.bizjournals.com). Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  4. ^ Conrad, Katherine (2009-04-10). "Sunnyvale Town Center on hiatus". Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal: (Sanjose.bizjournals.com). Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  5. ^ Carney, Tiffany (January 20, 2010). "Stalled Sunnyvale Town Center is focus of city's five-year plan". Sunnyvale Sun. Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
  6. ^ "Sunnyvale Town Center - CLOSED - Sunnyvale, CA". Yelp.com. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  7. ^ Scott Parsons (2006-12-08). "Sunnyvale Town Center - The Unauthorized Guide". Bigmallrat.com. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  8. ^ "Sunnyvale Town Center". Campanellacorporation.com. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
  9. ^ a b https://www.baycitizen.org/news/real-estate/sunnyvales-town-center-goes-sale-nobody/
  10. ^ http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/HotTopics/DowntownDevelopment/TownCenterPlans.aspx
  11. ^ a b c d "Tensions Flare Over Stuck Sunnyvale Project". Wall Street journal. 
  12. ^ a b http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/news_releases/2012/NR%2005%2012%2012%20-%20STC.pdf
  13. ^ a b http://news.theregistrysf.com/new-appeals-threaten-to-stall-sunnyvale-town-center-redevelopment-for-years-2/

Coordinates: 37°22′33″N 122°01′54″W / 37.37575°N 122.03166°W / 37.37575; -122.03166


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