Located on Stevens Creek Boulevard at Finch Avenue, between Cupertino Square Mall (formerly Vallco Fashion Park) and Interstate 280, the property is considered of the largest undeveloped infill sites in Cupertino. "It's one of those undisputed, hole-in-the-doughnut kind of sites," CBRE senior vice president Donald Polishuk, who arranged the financing with CBRE Capital markets EVP John Nelson, tells GlobeSt.com.

Without that kind of site and without the reputation of the operating partner (Sand Hill) and the co-investor (PREI), closing the financing on the property would have proven much more difficult in the prevailing real estate credit markets, Polishuk says. "Banks are being very conservative while they try to get a handle on any potential losses and the direction of the commercial mortgage backed security (CMBS) market," he says. "The uncertainty in the secondary loan market has resulted in significantly higher loan spreads and more conservative underwriting, including requiring not only that developers and buyers put more equity into their deals but also that the developers and buyers themselves have an extremely solid track record. With strong sponsors and projects with solid fundamentals we are continuing to get deals done despite the turbulence in the credit markets"

Prior to Sand Hill, Pennsylvania home builder Toll Brothers Inc. and local partner Keenan & Bariteau had sought to build 380 condominiums and 113,000 sf of new retail shop space on the site, which totaled 25 acres at the time. The Cupertino City Council approved the project in March 2006 but folks against the project obtained enough signatures to put the necessary rezone on the ballet and voters shot it down in November of that year.