Olympic, J.P. Morgan Break Ground on Silicon Valley Project

This is the first property in a 17-acre master-planned development to be built adjacent to a Caltrain station.

Rendering of 1175 Aster Ave. Image courtesy of Olympic Residential Group

A five-story, 412-unit mixed-use apartment community is the first project in a 17-acre master-planned development to be built at a site adjacent to the Caltrain Lawrence Station in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The rental property at 1175 Aster Ave. is being developed by joint venture partners Olympic Residential Group and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives and will also have approximately 1,500 square feet of retail space and a 519-space parking garage. Completion is slated for the summer of 2024.

The general contractor is SBI Builders Inc. The property was designed by Studio T-Square, with interiors by Jules Wilson Design Studio.

The site was the former headquarters of Peninsula Building Materials, a local masonry and landscaping material supplier, and Calstone, a masonry block and paver manufacturer. Located next to the Caltrain station, the site is within the Lawrence Station Area Plan district adopted by the City of Sunnyvale and amended last year. The LSAP includes multiple parcels and property owners along the Caltrain rail corridor and was designed to promote greater use of the Caltrain Lawrence Station and guide the development of a new urban neighborhood, including residential uses like 1175 Aster Ave.

Dan Deibel, president of Olympic Residential Group, said the larger 16.8-acre development was entitled by Olympic in 2018 that includes 189 condominiums, 140 townhomes and 2 acres of community open space with a play area and dog run. Deibel said the condos and townhomes are slated to break ground this year in the second quarter.

“We entitled those components as part of the full master plan but we are not the developer moving forward and don’t have an exact timetable for their completion,” Deibel told Multi-Housing News.

Deibel has been instrumental in entitling and developing numerous Bay Area apartment developments throughout his career, including the nearby Savoy Apartments at 1120 Kifer Road, which is also within the LSAP. A joint venture of Olympic Residential Group, Tidewater Capital and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives recently completed development of the 13-story, 193-unit Prism apartment building in San Francisco’s Mid-Market corridor at 1028 Market St.

Apartment Project Details

Olympic and J.P. Morgan will pursue GreenPoint Rated Gold certification for the building. The Class A apartment project will have studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, averaging 905 square feet. The well-appointed residences will have top-of-the-market finishes. Deibel said the units were designed and approved pre-pandemic but are appropriately sized for flexible live/work use.

A main feature of the community amenities will be the Sky Lobby, an 11,800-square-foot rooftop lounge that includes a pool, outdoor kitchen, clubhouse, fitness center and panoramic views of Silicon Valley. A first-floor amenity space will feature a co-working lounge, leasing center, package reception and mailroom and a café adjacent to the Caltrain station that will be open to the public.

“The project design was fully approved prior to the pandemic, so we could not make substantive changes to the unit plans or building design. However, the coworking lounge was always included as part of our extensive amenity package in the development,” Deibel told MHN.

He noted the community amenities, including Wi-Fi-enabled courtyards and the rooftop pool deck, will enable residents to work “from home” throughout the building.

“We have incorporated some private coworking components to the overall program,” Deibel added.

Located just steps away from the Caltrain Lawrence Station, residents will be able to travel to downtown Sunnyvale in 4 minutes; Mountain View, Calif., in 9 minutes; Palo Alto, Calif., in 21 minutes; Redwood City, Calif., in 30 minutes and San Francisco in about one hour.