Toll Brothers and partner USA Properties on Tuesday presented plans to replace the Moonlight Shopping Center at 2610 El Camino Real in Santa Clara with a 601‑unit mixed‑use development that the applicants say would set aside about 27% of units as affordable housing.

The proposal calls for two 6–7‑story market‑rate condominium podiums fronting El Camino Real, a 166‑unit affordable rental building at the Kylie/El Camino corner, and three‑story townhomes along the southern edge of the 14.3‑acre site. The team also described roughly 15,000 square feet of ground‑floor commercial space organized around a central plaza and below‑grade or private garage parking for residents.

Why it matters: The developers said the project would deliver deeper affordability than is typically required in Santa Clara, and the affordable building would be managed by USA Properties, which the presenter said operates development, construction and in‑house property management. Neighbors raised concerns about traffic, parking, trees, construction impacts and how the retail component will be sized and phased.

Project details and timeline
Rob Connolly, a presenter for Toll Brothers, said the project site is roughly 14.3 acres and that the team expects the development to “create a newer and vibrant neighborhood.” The applicants described two market‑rate condominium buildings that would be for sale, a rental affordable building developed by USA Properties, and townhomes that step down to match the adjacent residential scale.

“We have about 27% — we're offering about 27% of our overall project in affordable housing,” Rob Connolly said during the presentation. USA Properties’ representative said supportive services will be provided on‑site, including after‑school programs and financial coaching; “everybody that lives in our buildings is below the median income,” the USA Properties speaker said while describing AMI bands and tenant eligibility.

Toll Brothers said it filed an SP330 application in 2024 and submitted the formal application to the city about a year ago. The applicants reported three rounds of technical review with city departments and said the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review is starting; they estimated the project could be ready for planning‑commission and city‑council hearings in the second quarter of next year, with about a year of site development work and a two‑to‑three‑year construction period if approvals are granted.

Affordable housing and unit counts
The team said the affordable building will contain 166 units, of which the applicants stated 164 would be income‑restricted and two would be manager units; that portion of the site is being proposed and financed with typical affordable‑housing tools. The developers said the overall percentage of affordable units (~27%) exceeds the city’s typical 15% baseline for affordable housing in comparable projects.

Retail, parking and public space
Nick, a Toll Brothers representative, said the project would include about 15,000 square feet of commercial space, likely split into multiple small retail or restaurant spaces that would face an interior plaza to encourage outdoor activity. The team described guest parking throughout the site and below‑grade parking for condominium buildings; townhomes would have private two‑car garages.

On parking quantities, the team stated Buildings A and B are proposed at about 1.8 spaces per unit and the affordable building about 1.0 space per unit. The applicants said those ratios meet or slightly exceed current city requirements for this location, though some neighbors urged lower parking ratios in favor of transit orientation.

Community concerns and responses
During a lengthy public Q&A, neighbors pressed the team about traffic, cut‑through circulation, construction impacts and tree selection for the streetscape. The applicants said vehicle access to resident parking would come from side streets (Kylie and Bowie) rather than direct driveways on El Camino Real, that a detailed traffic study is under way, and that any required mitigations would be identified through that study and CEQA review.

On sustainability and utilities, the applicants said the project will be all‑electric and that garages will be prepped for vehicle chargers; they also offered to work with the city on possible recycled‑water ("purple pipe") connections but noted that city‑wide infrastructure would be a separate, larger undertaking.

What was not decided
There were no votes or formal approvals at the meeting. The project remains an applicant proposal undergoing technical review and environmental study. Timing for planning‑commission and city‑council hearings will depend on the outcome of the CEQA review, the traffic analysis and city staff recommendations.

Next steps
The applicants said project materials and uploaded plans are available on the city's website under the project address (listed in the presentation as 2610). They asked neighbors to submit questions in writing and said they will post environmental documents and the traffic study when available.

Community members who want city responses to environmental or circulation studies were directed to the city’s planning and public‑works staff; applicant contacts were also provided at the meeting for follow‑up.