Approved Asian mall-hotel in Milpitas next needs building permits

By Ian Bauer, Milpitas Post

Plans for an enclosed Asian-themed mall and hotel to be built on a portion of the partly-vacant McCarthy Ranch Marketplace have barely moved forward since the project was first approved by the city more than a year ago.

In February 2014, a prior Milpitas City Council approved a conditional-use permit, general plan amendments and a final environmental impact report related to Canadian developer TMS McCarthy Inc.'s $100-million Pacific Mall Silicon Valley project, to be located from 11 to 111 Ranch Drive.

The council's approval allowed for the conversion of the existing 25.1-acre retail site -- plagued with shuttered businesses near the intersection of McCarthy Boulevard and Ranch Drive -- and granted demolition of buildings from the old Borders Books and Music (currently Furniture City Plus) northward to the Dollar Tree store.

The action also allowed construction of 284,587 square feet of retail space for individual sellers of boutique clothing, electronic goods and other merchandise in a two-level mall, a 240-room hotel and an 835-stall underground parking garage.

The total net increase in floor area is 304,726 square feet, including the hotel space.

The project will be sold to individual owners as condominium units for small business retail and commercial space for up to 450 stores (with tenant spaces ranging in size from 143 square feet to 2,766 square feet). The site would also feature a gaming arcade, a community performance stage and one large food court.

According to the developer, construction on the project is supposed to begin this year. The mall's first full year of operation was expected to occur by 2017.

But since the council's approval last year no major advances have occurred.

"We have been communicating with the Pacific Mall developer," Milpitas Planning and Neighborhood Services Director Steve McHarris this week. "They are working on minor building modifications to their plans, and have been completing relocation and lease arrangements with their existing tenants on their property which has required more time on their end."

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Approved Asian mall-hotel in Milpitas next needs building permits