Brief:

• Developer Related Cos. will start vertical construction next year on the 240-acre, 9.2 million-square-foot Related Santa Clara project next to Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California. Related’s investment in the mixed-use project, formerly known as CityPlace Santa Clara, is estimated at $8 billion, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Site work reportedly started in May at the Silicon Valley development, which will eventually include 5.4 million square feet of office space; 700 hotel rooms; 1,680 residential units, including 170 affordable; and roughly 1 million square feet of restaurant, retail and entertainment space. Related Santa Clara will also feature new infrastructure that will connect the project to the city, public spaces and a 30-acre park with recreational and fitness elements.
• Foster + Partners, the project’s lead design architect, is working with Gensler, which is serving as the executive architect. Related also brought on WSP USA as lead engineer for the major infrastructure elements of the development. The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion in 2023. 

Insight:

The public-private partnership between Related and the city of Santa Clara has had to overcome a few challenges in its quest to turn a public golf course into a development that, according to Related, will generate 25,000 jobs; $17 million in taxes, fees and lease revenue annually; and millions of dollars for area school and transportation projects.

First, the golf course sits on top of a former landfill, so some regulatory agencies and utility companies were hesitant to give their approval for the redevelopment plan over concerns about the safety of water hookups and housing on the site.

Then, the city of San Jose, California, sued Santa Clara in an attempt to kill the project. San Jose officials said the massive development did not include enough housing for the demand it would generate, and would put too much stress on its own stretched real estate market and congested roadways. Santa Clara retaliated with a lawsuit of its own, trying to stop a large office project from moving forward in San Jose. Both of those suits, according to the Chronicle, were settled last year. 

The Santa Clara project is another Related Cos. mega-development that is either under construction or in the planning stages. Related is also behind the $25 billion Hudson Yards project in New York City, which is getting ready to enter its second phase of construction, and the $7 billion “The 78” Chicago development, which just won city approval.​

This article was originally written by Kim Slowey and appeared here.