Sunnyvale planners review proposal to replace Lakewood shopping center with 101 townhomes and new retail

Sunnyvale planning staff and the project applicant on May 12 presented a proposal to demolish the Lakewood Shopping Center at 1119–1163 Lawrence Expressway and redevelop the 5.28-acre site with 101 townhome units in 15 three‑story buildings and a commercial building currently proposed at 10,000 square feet.

Senior staff planner Jeff Cuchinotta, the city project planner, told the Planning Commission the current application is for a special development permit and a vesting tentative map to subdivide the three parcels into 27 lots for 101 condominium units. “The current proposal before us tonight is for a special development permit to demolish the existing Lakewood Shopping Center buildings … and to redevelop the site with residential and commercial components, which include 101 townhome units in 15 buildings and a commercial building with at least 10,000 square feet of floor area,” Cuchinotta said.

Why it matters: the site sits in Sunnyvale’s Lakewood neighborhood and is adjacent to an SFPUC-owned parcel that bisects the property and prevents direct site-to-site pedestrian and vehicle connectivity. Commissioners, staff and residents expressed concern about loss of neighborhood retail, pedestrian and trail connections, traffic and safety along Lawrence Expressway, and whether the proposed retail space would be large enough to replace community-serving businesses.

What’s proposed and why it’s complicated The project would replace an existing roughly 58,549-square-foot shopping center and a former 2,000-square-foot auto service building with: 101 townhomes (a mix of 2-, 3- and 4‑bedroom units totaling 275 bedrooms), 16 below-market-rate (BMR) units, and a commercial building now shown at 10,000 square feet. The application was submitted in April 2023; an SB 330 preliminary application submitted in January 2023 froze applicable development standards, staff said.

Applicant Kelly Ruchena, director of entitlements for Bay Area Projects at True…