EDC 11-05-2008
City of Cupertino
Economic Development Committee
Regular Meeting
November 5, 2008
1.CALL TO ORDER
At 3:30 p.m Kelly Kline called the meeting to order in Conference Room A at City Hall.
2.ROLL CALL
City Staff: Kelly Kline, Piu Ghosh, Steve Piasecki, Ralph Qualls, Dave Knapp, Carol
Atwood,
Chamber: Suzi Blackman, Scott Stauffer, Bob Adams
City Council: Dolly Sandoval
Planning Commission: Paul Brophy
Absent: Shawna Holmes, Mike Foulkes
3.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ralph Qualls moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting on August 6, 2008.
Dolly Sandoval seconded and the motion passed unanimously with Holmes and Foulkes
absent.
4.ORAL COMMUNICATION
- None
5.NEW BUSINESS
A.Economic Development Manager Report
Kline provided the committee with various updates on grand openings, retail
under construction, new leases and sales. Recent grand openings include: Alexa
Eyewear, Red Mango (Yogurt), Sitar Express, Silicon Valley Surgical Arts &
Fara’s Hair Salon at the Oaks, Sri Krupa Dance Studio and EverTrust Bank at the
Crossroads. Under construction: KC Bistro/Hawaiian Café, Marukai (set to open
in December), Daiso (expected to open in two weeks), and the food court at
Cupertino Square proceeding with Burger King, Popeyes & Tutti Frutti. Recent
leases/sales include: Apple’s lease of another 102,500 s.f. building on Homestead,
Staple’s lease of the Old Whole Foods site, Verde Tea’s relocation to the
Marketplace from TraVigne and Kiddie Academy leasing 8,400 s.f. at the
Furniture 2000 site. The Learning Game purchased the old Mercedes dealership
site on N. De Anza with plans to add a new building closer to the street, and
leasing the back building to a complementary use.
Kline shared that TGI Friday’s plans for renovation are on hold. She also
mentioned that another yogurt shop is going into The Oaks. She mentioned that
she had close to 30 meetings in the last quarter with companies interested in
Cupertino, such as Bevmo, CVS etc.
Kline talked briefly about the Mervyn’s store closing scheduled for December 31,
2008. The site is about 50,000 s.f. which suggest a more limited list of potential
tenants to fill the space. She also said that the Franco family is interested in
redeveloping the Homestead Square site and has retained Ken Rodriguez as their
architect.
Kline is keeping a close eye on the potential CA Redevelopment Association’s
lawsuit against the State of California with regard to the ERAF take away. The
City has a small Redevelopment area and, therefore, the amount of its ERAF
payment was not very large.
Kline reported that the City’s Business to Business tax is still strong. Tax from
retail operations is down to 2006 levels. Sales of groceries and liquor are up while
restaurants are feeling the effects of the economy. She reported more hotel contact
since the City Council considered the item about increasing the Hotel Allocation
in the city. She mentioned that there are four potential hotels in development or
being planned – at the Oaks, on N. De Anza (Shashi LLC), Vallco Parkway and
N. Tantau, and the Evershine property north of the J.C. Penney’s store. Some
concerns were raised with regard to the number of hotels being planned. Kline
said that generally, the City does not try to second guess the market on absorption.
Additionally, Kline also shared that a company from Cupertino (ArcSight Inc.) is
ranked #34 in the Business Journal’s “50 Fastest Growing Private Companies” in
their 10/10/2008 list.
B.2009 Proposed Schedule
Kline provided everyone with a list of proposed dates for the Committee to meet
in 2009. The Committee reviewed the dates and concurred.
C.Business Appreciation Program Proposal
Kline proposed a new Business Appreciation program for Cupertino. She
proposed that the Program be launched in 2009, in collaboration with the
Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. In the first round, designated representatives/
ambassadors would establish contact and meet with the top 25 sales tax generators
and all 4 hotels currently operating in the city. She also talked about the goals of
this program and the process of establishing the program. Committee members
were interested in finding out who would attend the meetings. Kline said that
EDC members would have an opportunity to attend on a meeting-by-meeting
basis. Dave Knapp expressed an interest in attending the meetings.
6.OLD BUSINESS
A.Cupertino Square Update
Kline presented an update on Cupertino Square. The court has dismissed the
receiver. There will be another hearing on 12/3/2008. The Rose Bowl site has
been cleaned up for Evershine to proceed with their plans for the site. The VTA
Park & Ride lot has been moved to the J.C. Penney’s garage and appears to be
working for both riders and VTA.
Three food court stores Burger King, Popeyes & Tutti Frutti will open by 11/15.
Hoffbrau Haus, Teriyaki Experience and Chiarimonte’s Deli are next in line.
Hoffbrau Haus is expected to have three components – a restaurant & bakery in
front of the restaurant and the food court store. There are several other stores that
are finalizing leases for spaces in the food court including Booster Juice, Todai
Express, Todo Taco, Dynasty Express and Thai Basil.
The Mall has hired a new leasing team. The Farmer’s Market is expected to move
to the Sears parking lot in the near term.
B.Cupertino Restaurant Association Update
Kline informed the Committee that the Cupertino Dining Guide has been very
well received. It is available from several sources: such as the website, at the Flint
Center and the Chamber. Cupertino Restaurants were advertised on KLIV AM
1590, and city funds were matched by the Flint Center.
The Flint Center is running a promotion for the 12/11 Choral Concert in which 8
restaurants are participating. The San Jose American Musical Theater had a
“Cupertino Night” promotion in which Cupertino residents, employees etc. got a
discount on tickets. There was also advertising of Cupertino businesses in the
program, and the Cupertino Dining Guide was distributed at the event.
Kline said that she attended a kick-off meeting for the Blackberry Farm RFQ/RFP
process with regard to obtaining responses from interested parties in the catering
business and/or the concession stand at the renovated facility.
7.CURRENT DEVELOPMENT REPORT
A.Development Activity Report Presentation
Piasecki reviewed the most current copy of this report which can be found on the
City’s website. He also mentioned that the permits issued YTD are better than in
2007 but, lower than 2006, and are expected to be lower yet in the next year.
Ralph Qualls provided an update on the Mary Ave. bridge. The bridge itself is
anticipated to be completed by the end of the year. Associated improvements will
take more time. The Stevens Creek Corridor plan is also proceeding and includes
improvements to Blackberry Farm and McClellan Ranch. The project is slated to
open on July 4, 2009.
B.Upcoming Development Projects for Planning Commission/City Council
The matrix was distributed to the committee. Changes in status are highlighted in
yellow.
8.MISCELLANEOUS COMMITTEE UPDATES
A.Chamber of Commerce Update
Blackman announced that the Chamber has its annual retreat recently. She
mentioned that there would be a change in the mixer date since the current time
conflicts with two other chamber mixer dates.
9.FUTURE ITEMS
Next Meeting: February 4 – will feature a bus tour of the City
10.ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
______________________________
Kelly Kline
Economic Development Manager