Santa Clara has been bulking up housing in its northern neighborhoods and officials just approved plans for thousands more homes.
The Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved an environmental impact report, rezoning and a developers agreement for a 48.6-acre mixed-use development in North Santa Clara on Nov. 19. Real estate firm Kylli Inc. has owned the property at 3005 Democracy Way since 2017 and scaled back the original design, but the goal remains the same — build a walkable neighborhood.
The mix-use development includes up to 2,600 new homes, 390 of which would be affordable to people making 80% of the area median income. For a family of four in Santa Clara County, that’s about $146,100, according to the state’s 2024 income limits. The development includes 3 million square feet in office and research space, 100,000 square feet of retail and 10,000 square feet for child care facilities. More than seven acres will be set aside for three public parks.
When the project’s initial concept plan was developed in 2019, residents and the Federal Aviation Administration questioned the proposed 370-foot towers. That’s been addressed, and the tallest building will be no greater than 192 feet.
While the project has undergone many changes, Kylli spokesperson Rita Deng said the goal has always been to design a walkable neighborhood.
“The biggest change is the building heights, but the program of the project’s different uses remains the same,” Deng told San José Spotlight. “Kylli really wanted to build this complete community for everyone, that never changed.”
Working with the FAA to determine safer building heights gave developers more time to connect with residents and hear feedback. The developers held more than 20 community meetings and attended dozens of events across the city, according to a presentation delivered by Gensler architect Ben Tranel, who is working on the Mission Point project.
Based on feedback, the developers found Santa Clara residents are looking for more retail spaces, particularly grocery stores. During the council meeting, Councilmember Kathy Watanabe, who represents the project’s district, said Trader Joe’s could be a good addition.
“As many people have said, the important thing is that you all listened to the community,” Watanabe said. “I’m proud to be able to support the project before I do term out of office because I’ve been a part of this since the very beginning.”
Residents and representatives from various groups also attended the meeting to speak in support of the development. Ali Sapirman from the Housing Action Coalition said the group has gathered 96 letters in community support.
Santa Clara has to build 11,632 homes by 2031 to hit state housing goals, 6,506 of which must cost below 120% of the area median income.
“I think the Mission Point project comes along at a good time for the city, as we continue to grow and plan for the future,” Santa Clara resident Brian Goldenberg said. “It would be a terrible missed opportunity if it does not happen.”
With conceptual plans approved, the development team will work on a more detailed design. Wendi Baker, a principal at Harmonie Park which is consulting on the project, said construction will be split into phases and developed based on what use has the most market potential. The plan is to start with housing.
The next set of plans needs to return to the city for approval — a process that could take up to two years. The delay created by the city’s approval process means the construction timeline will not start until after Super Bowl 60 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
“In this instance, Kylli was very patient and really wanted to hear what the community had to say and the councilmembers had to say, to ensure the project saw its way through entitlement and the comments before … the design work,” Baker told San José Spotlight. “(The) first step was entitlements, being very mindful about that, and the next step is implementation.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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