Another commercial space in Cupertino could become townhomes.
San Ramon-based SummerHill Homes recently submitted a preliminary application for a 27-townhome project on 1.55 acres at 10268 Bandley Drive. Plans for the three-story development also include five moderately-affordable homes and 59 parking spaces, primarily in each home’s two-car garage.
The development could replace the existing Bandley Center, a commercial building home to a local tax business, a Chinese language school, a clay studio and a couple of small law and architecture offices. SummerHill Homes, which declined to comment, doesn’t have plans to keep the space’s commercial element and will likely apply to waive that requirement, meaning none of the businesses could return after construction if the project goes through.
None of the small businesses responded to requests for comment. The development still needs to submit a formal application before the Planning Commission and City Council can review it for approval.
Longtime Cupertino resident Jean Bedord is glad to see the proposal because Bandley Center is outdated and underused, with a few empty offices. She said it makes sense not to include retail in the project because it’s not an ideal location for it off the main roads.
“Cupertino lacks that middle housing, so townhomes are the starter homes for the community and… I’m sure it will bring in younger families,” Bedord told San José Spotlight.
SummerHill Homes is also expected to apply using recent legislation allowing certain projects to bypass the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a statewide law requiring local governments to evaluate, publish and mitigate environmental effects from projects before they’re approved. State lawmakers passed the legislation in June, and this project will be one of the first applications in the city to use it.
Ignatius Ding, who’s lived in the city for about 45 years, said even though the project likely won’t fall under CEQA, which he supports, it could still be a quality project. He prefers projects like this that fill somewhat empty pockets in the city to large developments such as The Rise, which is slated to build 2,669 apartments and homes at the former Vallco Mall site. The Rise and this proposal could add to Cupertino’s state housing requirement, which mandates the city build at least 4,588 homes by 2031.
“Continuing to build high rise, like Vallco, ignoring the environmental factors and traffic pattern — that’s wrong,” Ding told San José Spotlight. “But if we can scatter the good housing in the needed areas, I think that’s the way we’re slowly solving the problem, methodically as opposed to taking a shotgun approach.”
SummerHill Homes’ proposal for Bandley Drive is similar to its recently approved 59-townhome development along Stevens Creek Boulevard. That project will replace two vacant buildings, formerly Fontana’s Italian Restaurant and Pizza Hut, along with an operating Staples. It does not include a retail component.
Deborah Feng, CEO of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, said while she couldn’t comment on the Bandley Center development, Cupertino needs both retail and housing — a difficult combination to achieve during the state’s housing crisis.
“It is important to have a balance between between housing and retail because that makes perfect sense,” she told San José Spotlight. “People need places to get their resources and supplies and things like that.”
Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
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