BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Mountain View City Council will review a four-story office and retail building proposed next to City Hall tomorrow night (Aug. 30).
The developer, Sobrato Organization, wants to build a ground-level for stores and restaurants and three upper stories of offices at 590 Castro Street, where a Wells Fargo used to be.
The project includes a public plaza that would connect Castro Street to Pioneer Park between the new building and City Hall.
A group called the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning wants the city to delay approval and focus on housing.
“This property, located on an important, historical corner in the heart of downtown, and next to a major open space in our city, deserves this extra examination,” coalition leader IdaRose Sylvester said in a letter.
The offices would create 500 new jobs without a single new home, in an area where people can walk to transportation, existing jobs, services and recreation, Sylvester said.
Other residents took issue with the project removing 19 trees, even though 54 new trees would be planted.
“While a higher tree count might sound good, it often means that the developer rips out healthy mature trees only to replace them with saplings, bushes, and grasses for ornamental landscapes,” resident Gwen Smith said. “Not all trees are equal.”
Council reviewed the project in April but ended up delaying approval. Since then, Sobrato has removed offices from plans for the first floor.