In October 2014, Sand Hill Property, a local Silicon Valley real estate and development company, bought Vallco Shopping Mall’s main stores: JCPenney, Macy’s and Sears. By the middle of November, the company had completely acquired the mall, including surrounding restaurants, Bowlmor Alley and ice rinks.

Sand Hill plans to raze the mall and redevelop it into two million square feet of office space, 389 condos and 600 thousand square feet of office space. Less than 50 percent of Vallco Shopping Mall and only 27 percent of Vallco’s total land area will remain as retail space.

Before Sand Hill can develop the area, however, Cupertino must first rezone where Vallco is located — an area that currently only allows retail development. The decision of whether or not to rezone the Vallco area and let Sand Hill redevelop Vallco has incited controversy among the community. Some worry that the company does not have the residents’ best interests at heart. To appease residents, Cupertino City Council has required Sand Hill to participate in community outreach and take into consideration public opinions when planning their project.

Check back soon for more coverage and perspectives on this issue.

 Reporting by Elia Chen and Sanjana Murthy.