Big homebuilder buys Sunnyvale housing project site from famed developer

SUNNYVALE — A big homebuilder has bought a housing project site in Sunnyvale where more than 100 residences have been proposed from one of Silicon Valley’s high-profile development firms.

Pulte Homes has bought a five-acre site at 1139 Karlstad Ave. in Sunnyvale, the location where a large residential development had been previously proposed.

The home building titan paid $52 million to buy the property, which is near the corner of Tasman Drive and Fair Oaks Avenue, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office on Aug. 24.

Sobrato Family Foundation, a unit of legendary development firm The Sobrato Organization, sold the property to Pulte.

The development site is empty land at present. As part of the project, a big industrial building totaling 100,500 square feet was bulldozed to clear the way for the development.

At one point, Sobrato had won approval from Sunnyvale city officials to develop a 135-unit residential project on the site.

The development proposal envisions eight three-story buildings and eight four-story buildings. The residences would be townhomes, according to the planning files.

Years after it was proposed, however, the project has yet to be built. City planners approved the project in May 2021. The development permit is slated to expire in May 2023, city documents show.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Pulte intends to build the project as entitled and approved, or if the homebuilder is eyeing a different development plan.