Sand Hill Property Company has rolled out plans to build the world’s largest green roof in Cupertino, Calif.
The Hills at Vallco, which takes up 30 acres of recreational resources, is going to be a sustainable mixed-use community park and nature preserve for Cupertino residents.
Rafael Vinoly, the Uruguayan architect behind New York City’s tallest residential building, 432 Park Avenue skyscraper, would team up with Philadelphia-headquartered OLIN Landscape Architects to head up the project.
The project would be built out on the current site of Cupertino Shopping Mall, a 1.3 million-square-foot mall that has gone downhill in recent years. Sand Hill acquired the mall for $320 million in late 2014, and pulled together 50 acres of space from various owners for this unprecedented green roof plan.
When finished, the community garden would include a 3.8-mile accessible trail network for jogging, walking and biking, children’s play areas, organic gardens, vineyards, meadows and a refuge for native species of birds and plants.
The Hills at Vallco will be equipped with a drought tolerant and climate responsive landscaping system, to adjust itself to seasonal weather changes. The developer, targeting LEED Platinum certification, would partner with local water agencies to recycle water for The Hills’ irrigation, heating and cooling systems. At the same time, the system would also recapture rainwater to cut down water consumption.
There will also be over 600,000 square feet of entertainment and retail space, including restaurants, theaters, bowling clubs, ice skating rinks and fitness centers. Two-million square feet of office space would also establish the development as an emerging downtown for Cupertino and adjacent Silicon Valley neighborhoods, which are in need of additional commercial space.
The Hills at Vallco community will have mixed-use buildings with 680 market-rate apartments, 80 apartments dedicated for affordable housing and 40 apartments for seniors, according to the developer.
With the environmental review in process, Sand Hill will submit its development plans to the city of Cupertino in a few weeks. The project could go to the city planning commission and city council for review by fall of 2016.
