New housing development in Sunnyvale could shut down popular restaurant

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (KGO) -- Plans to tear down old office buildings to put up nearly 400 new homes in Sunnyvale could come at a price.

A popular Greek restaurant would have to go.

For 16 years, Agape Grill has been serving hearty meals for lunch and customers love it.

But, word is spreading that the restaurant will have to close next year to make room for new homes going in.

"The food is excellent. I'm very disappointed and sad to hear they might be closing down," said Kimi Tran, a Santa Clara resident.

MORE: 2 SF Safeways to be redeveloped to add large housing complexes

Sunnyvale's planning commission has green-lighted several proposed plans to replace several old office buildings with housing. The Sunnyvale Park Place Project on De Guigne Drive would build 370-residential units in one business lot. The City Ventures Project would build 30 new townhomes in another business lot off Stewart Street.

That smaller proposed plan means Agape Grill will have to pack up and move somewhere else.

"It's heartbreaking. But there's nothing we can do about it," said Allen Francis, co-owner of Agape Grill," said Allen Frances, co-owner of Agape Grill. "We need to find a new location. But everything is kind of expensive because of inflation."

We reached out to the planning commission for comment. They were unavailable.

MORE: Alameda residents concerned about proposal to eliminate only grocery store on Bay Farm Island

The commission voted 6 -0 on Monday, approving the Sunnyvale Park Place Project. The chair previously said that there is a housing crisis and commended the plan for including a variety of housing options including ADU's.

As part of the proposal, there would be new single-family homes built along De Guigne Drive. They would be 3 stories high.

On a side street, Stewart Road, there would be 3-story townhomes as part of another housing development proposal.

Neighbors in the area are concerned about the various housing development projects.

"There are going to be traffic safety issues and parking issues," said May Xu, a concerned resident.

"Based out on the layout we've seen, they're all 4-5-bedroom homes. Three-story homes. Based on the market in this area, they're going to be multi-million dollar homes," said neighbor Miya Griffie. "We support building 2721 and we know there's a housing crisis. But we don't see how building 370 multi-million-dollar homes helps affordable housing."

Neighbors have filed an appeal regarding the Sunnyvale Park Place proposal. The city says the Sunnyvale City Council will review that in the next 30 days.