SUNNYVALE, CA-The receiver for the 36-acre Sunnyvale Town Center mixed-use development in downtown Sunnyvale has filed a motion with the Santa Clara County Superior Court for an order granting the receiver authority to market the receivership property for a streamlined process to approve a final sales contract.
Jerry Hunt of Danville, CA-based Quattro Realty Group, who was appointed as the receiver overseeing Sunnyvale Town Center in October 2009, filed the motion with the court as an initial step in the marketing process for the properties. “Sunnyvale Town Center is no longer a distressed asset,” says Hunt in a prepared statement. “Over the past year, there has been significant progress in removing uncertainties and creating value. Sunnyvale Town Center has tremendous fundamentals and when available, it will be one of the premiere commercial real estate offerings on the market nationally.”
Hunt and Quattro, under auspices of the court, have worked in conjunction with Wilson Meany Sullivan and Federal Realty Investment Trust, the co-advisors to the bank group which holds the loan-note on Sunnyvale Town Center. With the appointment of the receiver last year, the bank group, led by Wells Fargo, has funded the receivership and significant property expenditures. “The Receiver’s mandate has been to do what’s necessary to protect the property, prevent deterioration, and move the project forward,” he explains. “The property is stabilized, millions of dollars in contractors’ liens have been removed, millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements have been completed, Target opened, building exteriors have been completed and a lease has been executed with Nokia for a full building. Nokia moves into the 156,000-square-foot space beginning this December.”
Other market factors are echoing the progress, he continues. For example, on Aug. 31 BRE Properties revealed its acquisition of a property adjacent to Sunnyvale Town Center where BRE intends to build multifamily housing, he adds.
GlobeSt.com learns from an unidentified source not involved in the deal that the original project-valuation put Sunnyvale Town Center as a $750 million project, but could not confirm what the property might be marketed as today. Hunt says that a commercial brokerage firm will be selected soon to handle marketing of Sunnyvale Town Center, but did not have any time frame for the anticipated marketing or sale.
As GlobeSt.com previously reported, the receivership, back in October of 2009, was part of foreclosure proceedings initiated by lender Wachovia after the development partnership—Sand Hill Property Co. of San Mateo and equity partner Rreef—defaulted on a $100-million loan. Currently 40% complete, Sunnyvale Town Center broke ground in 2007 to create a “traditional downtown and vibrant pedestrian-friendly place for shopping, working, living and entertainment.”
The project is designed to include 300 housing units, 315,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel and 1 million square feet of retail, including a movie theater. The core first-phase area is bounded by Mathilda, Washington, Sunnyvale and Iowa Avenues. The redevelopment of Sunnyvale Town Center came to a halt in early 2006, shortly after Forum Properties demolished a parking garage on the site. Local industry sources say Forum could not come to agreement with Macy’s and Target with regard to the mall’s redevelopment. Toward the end of that year, the city found Forum in breach of contract and made moves to take over the project. That’s when Forum began talking with Sand Hill Property about a sale.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
