SKS and A&F Get OK on Office-Apartment Complex in Sunnyvale
SKS Partners and A&F Properties have moved forward with a plan to build 280 apartments and more than 220,000 square feet of offices in Sunnyvale.
The San Francisco- and Menlo Park-based developers received a nod from the city’s Planning Commission to build the seven-story complex at 1154 and 1170 Sonora Court, next to Lawrence Caltrain Station, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported. The project will go before the City Council on Nov. 28.
The preliminary approval follows a near-halt to the project last spring after the developers balked at a demand by Sunnyvale to include $5.2 million in community benefits. SKS threatened to sue if the city didn’t approve the project.
After closed-door talks, a lawsuit was averted when the city agreed to cut its benefits request to $1.2 million, while the developers agreed to build a path to the Caltrain station.
Plans call for two buildings containing 280 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, including 46 units set aside as affordable housing.
The development will also include 221,000 square feet of offices, despite record vacancies across the Bay Area.
The white, brown-and-charcoal project, designed by San Francisco-based WRNS Studio, features broad eaves, inset balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows on its bottom floors, according to a rendering.
While there are concerns over the downturn of the commercial real estate market, Alexandra Lee, a project manager at SKS, expressed optimism about Sunnyvale’s economy.
“We think it’s a great location for a lot of different companies,” Lee told the Business Journal. “We’re confident that we’ll be able to get those tenants and fill those spaces.”
The Lawrence Station area already has several development projects either in the works or in the planning process. Last month, the Planning Commission approved permits for two projects.
Prometheus Real Estate Group received approval for an eight-story, 225-unit apartment complex at 1150-1170 Kifer Road, where 20 percent of its units would be affordable.
Another seven-story, 29-unit apartment complex is planned for Kifer Road and Lawrence Expressway, according to the Business Journal.
— Dana Bartholomew
