Owner/Client: City of Sunnyvale
Ascent recently completed an update to the Sunnyvale Downtown Specific Plan, which will guide the evolution of the central commercial core of Downtown. With Bay Area growth pressure and a need for jobs and housing, Downtown is emerging with a mix of higher-density housing, ground-floor commercial retail and services, office, entertainment, plazas and public open space, and other amenities that will make Downtown a walkable and exciting 24-hour retail and entertainment destination for the Sunnyvale community, as well as for workers and visitors to the area.
The Specific Plan updates the vision, policies, standards, and design guidelines for Downtown, with a focus on improving connectivity and establishing architectural, landscape, and public realm design guidance that supports a vibrant Downtown atmosphere. Design standards for mixed-use and multifamily residential architecture were added to ensure new higher-intensity development being planned in the Downtown Core supports a pedestrian-oriented environment at the ground level and is compatible with existing adjacent lower-intensity residential development. The Specific Plan also establishes requirements for quality sustainable building and energy design, urban greening, and multimodal and active transportation mode choices while balancing new higher-density development with affordable housing, public open space, and other public community benefits.