SummerHill Kicks Off Sales for Nuevo Development

With construction on a large housing development in full swing at 3505 Kifer Road in Santa Clara, Bay Area-based SummerHill Homes has also commenced home sales. The project occupies 27 acres of land within the Lawrence Station Specific Plan area, and once complete will boost the City’s housing supply with a total of 868 new residences. Referred to as a “new urban town” by the developer, Nuevo will also have 24,000 square feet of community-oriented retail and restaurant space, and a community garden. Other amenities, for residents and members of the public alike, are six acres of open space and a 4,000 square foot community center.

Nuevo residents and visitors of the parks and community center spaces can expect outdoor movies to be featured as well as a children’s playground, sports turf, picnic tables, sports court, bike path, bike share pods, outdoor reading rooms and electric vehicle charging stations.

“With so much land there was an opportunity to make this a complete urban town with passive spaces for relaxation and a wide range of uses,” said Robert Freed, president and CEO of SummerHill. “It allowed us to create an environment where people will want to spend time.”

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The housing comes in several forms. Two apartment buildings contain 537 one and two-bedroom units, of which 98 are reserved as below-market-rate affordable. Other residential types in Nuevo include 41 four-story single family homes with rooftop terraces and decks, 114 three to four-story townhomes also with rooftop terraces and decks, and 176 two to three-story townhomes equipped with decks. Prices for the for-sale homes start at $1.2 million.

“Nuevo has a great variety of products — both for-sale and rental, which will attract a broad range of residents,” said Freed. “It will be a vibrant community with parks, retail and amenities in close proximity to existing retail, big employers and public transportation. It’s an outstanding example of urban infill development that will reduce the amount of time residents spend commuting while living in a vibrant spot. There’s nothing on the scale of this project in the Bay Area.”

All of the infrastructure construction work for Nuevo is already complete and vertical construction has begun on the for-sale homes, with model homes expected to open in late spring; the first homeowners could move in as early as late summer. One of the apartment buildings is also under construction, with occupancy anticipated in about 18 months. The open space areas and community center will be complete by year’s end, said Freed.

The project will also feature a 126-unit condo building on land that SummerHill sold to Toll Brothers to develop. The units will be one and two-bedrooms ranging from 656 to 1,266 square feet.

Freed said that SummerHill’s core business strategy for over 40 years has been to focus on urban infill development, and when the company learned that the City of Santa Clara was in the early stages of coming up with a development plan for the area around Lawrence Station, it was viewed as a strong development opportunity because of the proximity to jobs.

According to Andrew Crabtree, director of community development for the City, SummerHill representatives were active participants in the development of the Lawrence Station Specific Plan, which was adopted toward the end of 2016.

“Overall we’re happy that the project has a lot of amenities and a range of different product types,” said Crabtree. “We’re also pleased with the high density apartment component.”

Correction: The Nuevo development will have 24,000 square feet of community-oriented retail and restaurant space, and a community garden, not 40,000.

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