The Sunnyvale Planning Commission on Nov. 24 voted 4–0 to recommend the City Council approve a development agreement and site master plan for Platform Moffett Park, a proposed 294,000‑square‑foot office and research campus at 333 Moffett Park Drive.

Margaret Neto, the project planner, told commissioners the proposal would demolish existing buildings on the roughly 5‑acre parcel and construct two three‑story office/R&D buildings sitting above a three‑level podium that contains parking and ground‑floor programming. Staff’s recommendation included modified conditions clarifying public‑improvement obligations and a corrected community‑benefit amount of about $3.1 million.

David Hardy, senior vice president at Ellis Partners, described the design as an innovation‑district prototype that places workspaces above a podium to conceal parking and create an elevated private park. "The podium also avoids the need for an unsightly stand‑alone parking structure," Hardy said, summarizing the project’s podium, public‑access areas and sustainability features. The applicant said the development is designed to be LEED Platinum, all‑electric and "mass timber ready," and would include about a half‑megawatt of rooftop solar and roughly 203 EV chargers at opening.

Why it mattered: commissioners emphasized the proposal’s public‑realm improvements and alignment with the Moffett Park Specific Plan’s goals for an "eco‑innovation" district. The project will provide roughly 218 public parking spaces (of about 800 total stalls), a privately owned publicly accessible (POPA) area of roughly 12,000 square feet, and a hillside pollinator garden, all cited as offsets for extensive on‑site tree removals staff said were necessary to build the podium and buildings.

Commissioners also requested technical corrections to staff attachments and conditions prior to the council hearing. Commissioner Pine, who made the motion recommending approval, called the design "an example of what we meant by the eco‑innovation district," and noted the project’s contributions to bike, pedestrian and stormwater improvements. The commission recommended the ordinance and permit with those modifications and directed staff to correct minor typos and exhibit references before the item goes to City Council on Dec. 9.

Vote and next steps: the commission’s recommendation passed 4–0 with three commissioners absent; the record shows the item will be scheduled for the Dec. 9 City Council meeting. If council adopts the development agreement, the project would be subject to the development agreement’s schedule and the conditions in the site master plan and special development permit.

What remains unresolved: staff noted that design details, final certificates and several administrative corrections will be finalized in documents submitted to council. The record also shows substantial tree removal (staff reported 128 of 151 on‑site trees proposed for removal with 87 replacement trees proposed) and a community benefit payment; the precise timing of the community‑benefit payment and certain public‑improvement phasing will be set in the development agreement and conditions of approval.

The planning commission’s full findings and the staff report, including attachments correcting minor typos and driveway counts in conditions, are part of the administrative record being forwarded to council.