SUNNYVALE, CA—With the ever-present requirement of walkability checked off the list in a 36-acre mixed-use project, sights were set on landing a key player to tie the mix together. Enter the quintessential player: Whole Foods Market. The grocer has signed a lease for a new location, serving as a major anchor for the other residences, shopping, entertainment and offices that comprise what was formerly known as Sunnyvale Town Center project.

The street-level grocery store will consist of 52,000 square feet of retail including a café. The project is scheduled to break ground later this year and will open early 2019, according to STC Venture LLC, a joint venture of affiliates of Hunter Storm, Sares Regis Group of Northern California, and institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management.

“Landing Whole Foods in downtown Sunnyvale builds the foundation of a bright future for the town center project,” Deke Hunter, president of Hunter Storm, tells GlobeSt.com. “Securing a business of this caliber will help attract additional exceptional businesses to the area and reshape the neighborhood. A walkable downtown retail area will benefit all local merchants and allow the community to thrive.”

Elsewhere in the development acquired by STC Venture last year, construction is already underway. Sares Regis Group of Northern California is currently working to bring 198 residential apartments and 116,000 square feet of future retail and restaurant space to market in 2018. The site is within a 10-minute walk to the Sunnyvale Caltrain station.

“Whole Foods will be a terrific addition to the amenities our community already enjoys in Sunnyvale's vibrant downtown,” says Glenn Hendricks, mayor of Sunnyvale. “The Town Center is obviously a highly desirable location for businesses and residents, and we are thrilled with STC's rapid progress toward bringing the project to completion.”

Other public improvements in the works for downtown Sunnyvale by STC Venture include the spring reopening of Redwood Square for public use, the installation of new traffic signals and the construction of landscaped medians.

Current Hunter Storm developments include Coleman Highline, a transit-oriented development of more than 1.5 million square feet across from San Jose International Airport. Recent projects include Crossing 900 in downtown Redwood City, @First in San Jose which is a mixed use project of more than 1 million square feet, and Bass Pro at Almaden Ranch and Village Oaks in South San Jose.

STC Ventures was represented by James Chung of Cushman & Wakefield while Whole Foods was represented by Matt Holmes of Retail West.

This announcement comes on the heels of another mega-deal in Sunnyvale last week. Tristar Capital added to its growing office portfolio with the purchase of the class-A office campus at 410, 420 and 430 North Mary Ave. Tristar Capital purchased the campus, which is 100% leased, from Rockwood Capital LLC for a total of $290.7 million. JLL's Bay Area capital markets team, including managing directors Erik Doyle and Will Connors, and vice president Nicole Zanghi, led the off-market transaction.

STC Ventures was represented by James Chung of Cushman & Wakefield while Whole Foods was represented by Matt Holmes of Retail West.

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