April 15, 2021
The 490 S. Mathilda project (the “Project”) is proposed across two adjacent parcels of land totaling approximately 1.26 acres located on the north-east corner of W. Olive Ave and S.
Mathilda Ave. The Assessor’s Parcel Numbers (APN) are 209-28-052 (0.7184 acres) and 209- 28-008 (0.5388 acres). The zoning designation for both is DSP (Downtown Specific Plan).
The proposed Project is the demolition of the existing structures and the new construction of a three-story mass timber commercial building with a roof top building amenity terrace and two levels of underground parking.
EXISTING CONDITIONS
Parcel 209-208-055 (480 S. Mathilda) on the corner at S. Mathilda currently has a commercial structure housing “Eddie’s Sewing & Quilting Center” and Parcel 209-28-008 further south (355 W. Olive) is currently a two story office building.
The 480 S. Mathilda wood framed commercial building is primarily yellow color stucco walls with purple eaves and roof. A surface level parking lot surrounds the back side of the building and can be accessed from both S. Mathilda and W. Olive.
Immediately adjacent to the commercial building is the two story 355 W. Olive office building. This structure is composed of painted green stucco walls and sections of painted green wood siding and trim. A single story entry with green awing sits in the middle of the structure facing W. Olive.
Various trees and shrubs line the perimeter of the block, populating areas between the building exteriors and the back of the sidewalk.
PROPOSED PROJECT
The Project provides approximately 128,546 square feet of office space. The Project includes a roof top building amenity terrace and two levels of underground parking to accommodate approximately 275 parking stalls (including electric vehicle charging stalls and accessible stalls). The subterranean parking garage is accessed from W. Olive Way and the existing curb cut on Mathilda has been eliminated.
The proposed redevelopment of 490 S. Mathilda is driven by 3 major goals:
1. Construct an environmentally sensitive structure that promotes transit ridership, facilitates bicycle transit, utilizes 100% electric power and reduces energy consumption far beyond the building code.
As one of the first structures in the City to seek approval with mass timber construction, the office building is targeting LEED Gold and Well Certification. To meet these stringent certifications, the building is designed to employ passive strategies, such as a high- performance curtain wall and drought tolerant plantings throughout the landscape. To
DEVCON CONSTRUCTION
INCORPORATED
General Building Contractors
690 Gibraltar Drive
Milpitas, CA 95035
Phone (408) 942-8200
Fax (408) 262-2342
Lic. #399163
Attachment 9
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April 15, 2021
Mr. Shaunn Mendrin
RE: 480 S Mathilda Ave
Project No. 2020-7662
align with Sunnyvale’s Clean Energy Reach Code recommendations, the building will also be 100% electric.
The Well Certification is especially relevant for office tenants in a post-COVID environment.
This program is focused on the overall health and well-being of building occupants, through an array of architectural, building systems, and site-specific features to ensure positive human health and well-being through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. Strict indoor air ventilation and monitoring, promotion of health and nutrition, circadian lighting design, and available on-site physical and mental coaching all serve as a human-scale compliment to the larger, environmental-scale impacts of building- construction sustainability practices established through LEED.
Utilizing mass timber construction will allow the structure to take advantage of the sustainable features of wood. Compared to steel and concrete, the energy required to create a timber beam is significantly less and, as a natural material, wood has the unique ability to sequester and store carbon over its lifetime. Put another way, by using wood in place of steel and concrete, the building will store carbon in its structure and keep it from being released into the earth’s atmosphere. Inherently lighter in weight, the speed of erection with timber is also faster than steel or concrete, allowing for a compressed construction schedule, which minimizes impacts and inconvenience for the surrounding neighborhood.
Overall through these programs, the Project aims to serve as an icon for environmental stewardship and future developments in the community.
2. Create a contextually sensitive development that recognizes and respects the existing surrounding neighborhood yet also is a beacon of sustainable design on S. Mathilda and embraces Sunnyvale’s new Civic Center development across the intersection.
Through formal and material gestures, the architecture and landscape design of the proposed Project promotes greater pedestrian engagement along S. Mathilda and connectivity to Sunnyvale’s new Civic Center, City Line retail, and public transit locations downtown and on El Camino.
By prominently featuring an exterior stair case on S. Mathilda near the lobby entrance, the Project encourages pedestrian connections to S. Mathilda and away from the surrounding residential neighborhood to the South. In addition, by celebrating this staircase architecturally, it encourages future workers in the building to utilize the stairwell for movement between floors (thus enhancing human wellness and encouraging energy conservation).
On the short edge of the building that is adjacent to the residential neighborhood, the Project is intentionally pulled away from this property line beyond the code required setbacks. In addition, the Project is proposing planters with climbing vines attached to the Attachment 9
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April 15, 2021
Mr. Shaunn Mendrin
RE: 480 S Mathilda Ave
Project No. 2020-7662
structure to soften the building façade and provide additional screening. Finally, the roof mechanical and amenity programming is positioned away from this side of the building.
3. Provide a thoughtfully planned and high quality office development that will suit a wide range of tenants, both large and small for generations to come. Focused attention on the flexibility of the structure to host a wide variety of tenants o f
v
arying sizes will allow the building to remain a vibrant contributor to downtown Sunnyvale over decades and ever-changing market cycles.
Inspired by vernacular modern architecture of Northern California, the design of 490 S Mathilda reflects historic inspiration while simultaneously expressing a progressive vision of a sustainable and healthy office building.
The mass timber structure is designed to create large column free spaces and generous floor to floor heights, both of which provide planning flexibility allowing the building to be suitable for a wide variety of tenants. Thoughtful attention to detail is expressed throughout, as the timber is entirely exposed allowing its natural beauty to define the atmosphere of the interior space.
Along the Mathilda Ave and Olive Ave frontages, the ground floor is inset, exposing the timber structure, and is fully glazed, creating a “base” for the building to provide a human scale and enhance the pedestrian experience. The upper levels are clad in curtain wall that incorporates high-performance vision glazing, as well as fritted glazing that provides a dynamic texture to the facades. Horizontal and vertical aluminum fins are incorporated to articulate the pattern of the facades while providing depth and shadow.
Each facade of the building is expressed with projecting bays that provide natural light and views for the occupants while creating a rhythm and scale to the streetscape. The sides of the bays are clad in cementitious panels and incorporate wood trim and cladding that create a soft balance of materiality complimenting the natural timber structure.
A canopy extends above the roof of the building and is also composed of timber structure, unifying it with the building to create a holistic design. The canopy itself filters sunlight to promote the comfort of occupants on the rooftop amenity terrace, while also serving as an identifying feature, visible when approaching from the north and Mathilda Ave, and the west from Olive Ave.
Attachment 9