Santa Clara Park
In Design
2518 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054
Project Overview
• Project Type: Market-rate
• Owner/Developer: Irvine Company
• Presented to our members: August 2024
Catalyze SV evaluates project sustainability, equity, and vibrancy. Learn about our project review process.
Santa Clara Park Project Scorecard
Irvine Company's Santa Clara Park is a five-building, 1,792-unit mixed-income development located on a 25.74-acre site at 2518 Mission College Boulevard. The proposal will replace the existing 12 office buildings with 6.43 acres of public open space and over 1,740,000 square feet of residential space. The residential units are split between all five-story buildings that are a mix of studios, 1-bedrooms, and 2-bedrooms. Each bedroom contributes one parking space for a total of 2445 parking spaces plus an additional 90 spaces for visitors and guests. Plans also call for a small 4,000-square-foot centrally located cafe, as well as amenities for residents only, like a fitness center, co-working space, and two swimming pools.
Santa Clara Park scored an overall 3.43 out of 5 from our Project Advocacy Committee members.
As advocates of inclusive engagement, our members are pleased with Irvine Company’s efforts to engage the community, especially its future plans for monthly meetings where community members can get involved in the development process. Our members recommend these meetings be advertised to the community through sufficient channels so as to reach as many folks as possible. Additionally, since Santa Clara Park is geared toward young, working professionals, some of our members want to see Irvine Company directly reach out to Mission College students, located just a few blocks down the street. The student community could be the focus of one of the monthly meetings.
Vibrancy Score: 3/5
Finding and keeping commercial tenants isn’t always easy. Our members understand this. Yet the more people in an area, the more it can support vibrant activity like retail and restaurants. We are impressed by Irvine Company’s partial solution to this issue—operate its own in-house cafe. While we have never heard of this model, Irvine Company has tested a similar approach at its Redwood Place project in Sunnyvale. As described to us, this type of establishment will sell a range of goods to residents and the public, potentially filling a role similar to a convenience store. The cafe is a positive step. Our members stand by a bigger approach to vibrancy that entails more ground-floor activations near residents. We want Irvine Company to activate more space in the development for neighbors. River View Apartment Homes, a 1,308-unit Irvine Company community in San Jose, hosts a diverse collection of businesses, including restaurants, healthcare providers, and financial services. Our members note that Santa Clara Park’s neighboring Irvine property, Santa Clara Square, has some noteworthy retail but lacks a substantial connection to Santa Clara Park as they are on opposite sides of Highway 101. The trail beneath the highway is not the same as a walkable neighborhood street. It is especially problematic at night or for those more vulnerable who would fear for their safety going under an overpass. Santa Clara Park should attempt to foster its own activity hub that does not rely on Santa Clara Square’s existing amenities, especially considering it proposes so many homes as part of this project. It should consider complementing its solar rooftops with activation on top of them for residents. Housing is wonderful and our region’s highest need, yet we need complete neighborhoods if we’re truly providing livable communities. Santa Clara Park needs to be a next-generation development.
Transportation Score: 3/5
The San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail is the existing active transportation connection between Santa Clara Park and Santa Clara Square. The distance between the two properties is roughly one mile, and it would take a bicyclist at an average speed of roughly six and a half minutes on a mixed-use path. Our members appreciate that Santa Clara Park will improve cycling access from the site to the trail by installing new bike lanes along Freedom Circle. However, they are concerned regarding the reliability of the trail as the main connection to Santa Clara Square, which, in addition to a grocer and a few other businesses, primarily hosts restaurants and bars. During the day, commuting between the two locations is not an issue, but the trail closes at sunset. This means that during the busiest hours, traveling by car is the most viable option. Even if the trail were open, it would need significant lighting improvements to make it safe. It is an unfortunate situation, especially since our members are very impressed by the other cycling accommodations, like the 1,792 private bicycle stalls for residents. This is a huge effort by Irvine and represents the best of current development projects. We encourage Irvine Company, Valley Water, and Santa Clara to work together to enhance the north-south connection between these sites. As is, the only option for anyone outside of a car past sunset is to ride or walk along a six-lane highway service interchange.
Intensity/Zoning Score: 3/5
Santa Clara Park proposes a total of 1,792 units split between five, five-story buildings. Our members understand this is a typical footprint for an Irvine Company project, but as advocates for dense urban housing, we want Santa Clara Park to match not just higher possible densities allowed by the construction type Irvine proposes here but also match the existing character of the neighborhood. Directly to the project’s south are two 11-story buildings. To the project’s west are another two 12-story buildings, and north of those is the 14-story Santa Clara Marriott. East of the project is Mission City Center, a 13-story high-rise accompanied by a separate seven-story parking garage. At only five stories, Santa Clara Park is rather short in the surrounding context. In the midst of our housing crisis, where supply is nowhere near meeting demands, our members want to see projects that maximize the use of our scarce land and deliver as many homes as possible. We urge the developer to increase the height by two to three stories. Again, an urban development in Silicon Valley in 2024 cannot leave this many homes on the table when they are feasible. We will fight hard to support Irvine Company in making this change.
Sustainability Score: 4/5
Our members appreciate and recognize Santa Clara Park as a standout project in our sustainability category. The project is aiming for GreenPoint Gold certification, will have rooftop photovoltaics, and makes use of reclaimed water. These features put Santa Clara Park a head above the rest. For Santa Clara Park to improve even further in this category, some of our members would like to see the project better interface with the plants and wildlife of the San Tomas Aquino Creek. They suggest incorporating more riparian vegetation as well as pollinator-friendly trees into the project’s plentiful open green space. Members also want to see the project’s windows made bird-safe, as San Tomas Aquino Creek is a habitat for a plethora of diverse bird species.
Affordability Score: 3/5
Santa Clara Park complies with the city’s Affordable Housing Ordinance by providing 15% of units as deed-restricted affordable housing. Our members are glad to see these units will be on-site and integrated with the market-rate units. As presented to our members, the project aims to provide 5% of the affordable units to very low-income households, which for a two-person household is $73,750, and the remaining 10% of units will be provided to households earning the area median income, $147,450 for a household of two. Our members value deeply affordable housing and also recognize the potential for “affordable by design” units to deliver lower housing costs, but ultimately it is deed-restricted affordable housing that provides the greatest impact. While $147k meets the legal definition of affordable housing, this is well above a middle-class income, even in Silicon Valley. As such, our members encourage the developer to offer all the affordable units to households in very low or lower income levels to serve our neediest neighbors.
Legacy Score: 4
Members of Catalyze SV do not typically score projects in our Legacy category but felt it was important and relevant to Santa Clara Park in one regard—the preservation of the redwood trees. Our members are ecstatic to hear that Irvine Company is making the effort to preserve as many of the existing redwood trees as possible. As the site is currently a parking lot and private office campus, our members hope the community will one day be able to enjoy the redwood trees as part of a public park. We will be tracking this aspect of the project to make sure Irvine follows through on preserving the redwoods.