On September 29th, 2015, the Santa Clara City Council voted 5-1 in favor of selecting TheCore Companies as the developer for the 6 acre BAREC site!

The Proposal:

On April 30, 2015, The Core Companies (Core) submitted a proposal to Santa Clara’s Request for Proposal (RFP) and many of the Win6 Village ideas, principles and goals were included! Win6 Village is a community-supported partnership of concerned citizens that developed a vision for what they would most desire in this neighborhood.

The Core Companies proposal includes low-income senior housing with priority for veterans,  plus mixed income in the market rate apartment complex, a 1.5 acre urban farm, a half-acre of open space and common area, and a dozen programs that will highlight urban agriculture programs and partners. While this is a great start and good minimum baseline, it is not the target for what we are looking to create here. We are looking to do more and want your input on this.

Core partnered with the California Native Garden Foundation (CNGF) to create and manage the agricultural components of the site, providing for long term stewardship of the land. What a great partnership--a community developer working with a local horticulturist to create a Santa Clara Agrihood. Core and CNGF will create a model for healthy land use right here in Santa Clara Valley, in the middle of the ever increasing retail and commercial area bordered by Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row Mall. The future for an extraordinary walkable, human-scale experience is near and we all can encourage its creation.

The materials prepared and presented by City staff to the Council and public at the meeting 9/22/2015 give an overview of the three finalist proposals here. There is also a post-meeting document prepared by the City staff on the finalists here.

What is next?

The Core Companies and CNGF have committed to incorporating community input into their final plan beyond what the city requires. This is why we have supported them through the RFP process, and why we look forward to working with them to create a development that is a destination, an education, and a home.

We picture hydroponic rooftop green garden farms, an urban farm plaza, a fresh food emporium featuring local produce, and perhaps small artisan bakers, butchers, fish mongers for daily shopping. Perhaps a demonstration and commercial kitchen for small-food producers,. Perhaps a sustainability technology incubator to seed green businesses. Perhaps an all-ages makerspace for D.I.Y. learning and craft projects. Pedestrian and bike-friendly sidewalks and crosswalks to get to the nearby malls, visit neighbors and exercise safely. What can you see?

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MINIMUM PROPOSED AGRIHOOD AT A GLANCE (not a project, just the starting point)

Location – Santa Clara, CA
Low-Income Seniors – 165
Other Residents  – 16 moderate-income apartments, 144 market-rate apartments, 34 market-rate townhomes

Total Residents – 359

Design –  The Core Companies
Farm Partner – California Native Garden Foundation
Farm and Open Space – 1.5 acre farm, 0.5 open space commons

ACTIVITIES

Healthy Living

Diversified Farming

Horticultural Therapy for seniors, special needs immigrants, veterans, persons with anxiety disorder or PTSD, and general community

Freshest, Local Food Production and Shopping

Community Gatherings featuring local chefs, nutritional education, sustainability modeling

AMENITIES

165 Low-Income Senior Units
Additional Market Rate Units
1.5 Acre Working Urban Farm
Aquaponic Rooftop Gardens
Walkable Open Space

Opportunities for improvement*:

• Car Share Fleet
• Daily Farmers Market
• Food Emporium (butcher, baker, herbalist, etcetera)
• Neighborhood retail
• Demonstration Kitchen (for cooking classes) and Commercial Kitchen (for artisanal, cottage food producers)
• Sustainability Technology Incubator (for green businesses from solar to ag tech) 
• All-ages Makerspace for exploring and experimenting with D.I.Y. crafts and tinkering
• Ecology Center

* Assumes mixed-used zoning