Sunnyvale has been struggling to preserve grocery stores in its northern neighborhoods, and residents are frustrated with plans to build more housing that would push the area toward being a food desert.
True Life Companies has plans to develop 101 townhomes that would replace the Lakewood Shopping Center, which includes New Wing Yuan Market, one of the only places to get groceries in North Sunnyvale. While the plans include a 10,000 square feet retail building, residents say that’s not enough to sustain the neighborhood.
“It’s a balance between the housing we need and the retail we need, trying to get both is tricky,” District 6 Councilmember Eileen Le, who represents most of North Sunnyvale, told San José Spotlight.
The Lakewood development still needs approval from the city council. It’s considered a village center — one of seven aging sites the city wants to redevelop with mixed-use buildings where restaurants and shops operate on the ground floor and residents live above…