Borelli Investment Company anticipates starting construction this week on Saich Way Station, a roughly 15,000-square-foot, $10.4 million retail center at 2803 Stevens Creek Blvd. at Saich Way. The work follows the securing of a $6.4 million construction loan obtained through Heritage Bank, said Ralph Borelli, chairman of San Jose-based Borelli Investment Co.

The project has already landed three tenants — the Melt, a growing San Francisco-based gourmet grilled-cheese chain founded by the founder of Flip Video; Blast Pizza, part of the emerging “custom-pizza” trend; and Vitamin Shoppe, the nutritional supplement superstore. That represents more than half of the space available, said Randol Mackley of SRS Real Estate Partners, which is marketing the center. Five retail spaces are still available.

The Cupertino submarket has become sought-after for retailers, thanks to high household income in Apple Inc.‘s home town. But there are few new projects that have gone up in recent years. The Sobrato Organization has repositioned Homestead Square, a Safeway-anchored center, and Sand Hill Property Co. is under construction on Main Street Cupertino, a mixed-use center near Vallco Shopping Mall.

“Cupertino has about a 2.6 percent retail vacancy rate,” Mackley said. “This will be the newest with sticks in the air.”

Saich Way Station replaces about 11,600 square feet of retail space between Cupertino’s Target and Whole Foods, considered an extremely desirable location. In 2008, a fire caused some of the businesses in the center to close. The property owner decided to scrape the site and rebuild the whole center in a joint venture with Borelli. Working through city approvals took about three years.

“It’s the No. 2 performing Whole Foods store in the entire chain, very desirable demographics and there’s very little ground-up development,” Borelli said.

One example of the strong environment for new retail in Cupertino was the financing interest from banks. Borelli said about half a dozen banks provided proposals to fund the construction.

“We had a lot of interest in it,” Borelli said. SiliconX Construction, an affiliated company of Borelli Investment Co., is the general contractor. Construction is expected to take about six months.

Reprinted from the Business Journal – read it here.

For more information about Saich Way Station, visit: www.SaichWayStation.com

Vitamin Shoppe Signs as Anchor Tenant at Saich Way Station Retail Center in Cupertino

Developer Borelli Investment Company and General Contractor SiliconX Construction have announced that Vitamin Shoppe has been signed as the anchor tenant for the Saich Way Station retail center in Cupertino. A leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products with 500 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Vitamin Shoppe will occupy a prime 3,500 sq. ft. unit facing busy Stevens Creek Boulevard. Vitamin Shoppe’s lease means that only six units remain in the 15,650 sq. ft. center, ideally located at 20803 Stevens Creek Boulevard across Saich Way from Target and just down the street from Whole Foods. Spaces are available in size from 1,026 to 3,000 sq. ft.

“We’re pleased to have a prominent national retailer such as Vitamin Shoppe serve as the anchor for Saich Way Station,” said Tom Purtell, chief operating officer for Borelli Investment Company and SiliconX Construction. “Cupertino is one of the hottest communities in Silicon Valley, home to Apple and many other well-respected technology companies and boasting a desirable well-educated, affluent residential community. The location is in the heart of one of the busiest traffic areas in the city — ideal for almost any type of retailer.”

Beyond Vitamin Shoppe, Borelli Investment Company and retail broker, Randol Mackley of SRS Real Estate Partners, are in discussions with a dozen or so national retailers who are showing considerable interest in the center. A letter of intent for 2,800 sq. ft. of space has been signed with Blast 825° Pizza — a fast-growing chain that cooks pizza in minutes while guests move through the line — for one of only two restaurant spaces within the center. Lease terms are still being discussed.

 

Attractive, Modern Design

The attractively designed center consists of two painted concrete and plaster buildings with aluminum storefronts and canopies and modern lighting treatments. There will be extensive landscaping on-site, featuring orchard-quality trees to honor Cupertino’s heritage, as well as abundant raised and in-ground planters with seatwalls. The center will also offer ample parking, plus pedestrian-friendly touches such as wide walkways and bike racks in front of the retail businesses. FCGA Architecture designed the retail center with HMH Engineers handling the civil engineering details.

SiliconX expects to begin construction by the early summer with the shell tentatively scheduled to be completed by around the end of 2014. For information about Saich Way Station, contact Larry Bengiveno at Borelli Investment Company at (408) 453-4700 or e-mail larry@borelli.com. For leasing information, contact Randol Mackley of SRS Real Estate  at (408) 216-2316, or e-mail randol.mackley@srsre.com.