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EDC 01-19-00 City of Cupertino Economic Development Committee Regular Meeting January 19,2000 1. CALL TO ORDER At 7:39 a.m., Carol Atwood called the meeting to order in Conference Room C & D, Cupertino City Hall, 10300 Torre Avenue. 2. ROLL CALL City Staff: Carol Atwood, Don Brown, Steve Dowling, Steve Piasecki, Dorothy Steenfott, Bert Viskovich Chamber: Linda Asbury, Paula Davis, Bill Sullivan City Council: Sandra James, Richard Lowenthal Absent: Bill Jones Guests: Ron Cali (Cali Financial Management), Deke Hunter (Hunter Properties), Dan Safier (Pegasus Development Company), John Tze (Sand Hill Properties) 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Revitalization of City Shopping Centers Carol Atwood updated the committee on the background of the Sedway Report and our "marginal" shopping centers which is estimated to consist of 435,000 square feet of retail space. She stated that the purpose of the meeting was to decide whether it is beneficial to create a program to revitalize marginal centers and if so, what can be done. Steve Piasecki distributed a map indicating the locations of shopping centers and stated that 18 of the 26 centers are considered marginal. He also stated that these marginal centers are 6,000 to 60,000 square feet. The committee asked each developer to describe their thoughts for redevelopment of marginal shopping centers in Cupertino. Deke Hunter: I. Cupertino lacks a true "retail core component" and as a result, development does not build off of a core success. 2. For centers that are 25,000 square feet or more, cities need to provide density, mixed use component, parking flexibility, setback flexibility for landscape components, etc. 3. Horizontal vs. vertical will work better fòr mixed density. January 19,2000 Economic Development Committee Page 2 4. Retail is much harder to negotiate vs. office space because the risk profile is very different. 5. Cities need to speed up the process, be forthright and consolidate processes. Density is the "norm" now - keep open space but do functional developments. John Tze: I. Cupertino Village worked because it was a niche center (this can't be done with smaller retail sites) and the center had mixed use with apartments, hotel and retail. 2. Fragmented ownership - the only way to be successful is to establish a redevelopment agency. 3. Retail is not at the rental rates of other products right now. 4. There is no lack of demand for retail, but high end retail cannot pay enough for the space. Developers can't afford to do stand alone retail anymore. Horizontal mixed use that compliments each other will pull in the break-even retail. Dan Safier: I. Changes in land use will be critical to make things work economically (mixed use). 2. There haven't been a lot of projects where there has been a successful incorporation ofretail and residential vertically. 3. Need to explore a redevelopment project area. There may be funds available from the state for a housing component with mixed use projects. Ron Cali: I. No incentive for most owners - retail rents are not there to justifY renovation. 2. Target centers that are ripe, gather owners together for education on how to revitalize. In conclusion, the developers felt that Cupertino's demographics couldn't be more attractive; the problem is space and competition in close proximity. Vallco needs office space to support day use, retailers that people will go to, and high density housing so people will shop. The committee also asked Ron Cali to assist them in bringing other owners together to meet with the city regarding redevelopment. January 19,2000 Economic Development Committee Page 3 4. MISCELLANEOUS COMMITTEE UPDATES 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 a.m.