Rivermark of Santa Clara


Rivermark of Santa Clara is a planned community in Santa Clara, California. built on a parcel formerly owned by the State of California and previously used by Agnews Developmental Center. The community comprises retail space, parks, school, library, apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and houses. The Rivermark area has been described as "upscale", with many young professionals and families as residents.

Area and composition

The area associated with the planned community is bordered on the south by Montague Expressway, south and west by Agnew Road, west by Lafayette Street, north by Hope Drive, and east by the Guadalupe River. The area includes the Rivermark Village retail center, and the housing developments including The Arbors by Centex, The Park by Centex, The Promenade by Lennar, The Greens by Lennar, The Landings by Shea, The Glen by Shea, and 550 Moreland. The Mansion Grove Apartments are not included in Rivermark of Santa Clara.

History

In 1998 the Agnews Developmental Center closed its west campus, on which site Rivermark was later developed. In September, 2000 the City of Santa Clara approved the Rivermark developers’ plans. In 2002 three builders started building new housing developments on land directly bordering the Guadalupe River in Santa Clara, California as part of the Rivermark development.
Since that time, developers have won several national design awards for their contributions to various facets of Rivermark, including Grand Award for Master Planned Project of the Year and Grand and Merit Award from Builder magazine in 2003.
On March 29, 2009, a home within the Rivermark area was the site of a murder-suicide that was the worst incident of domestic violence in the city's history. Devan Kalathat shot several members of his immediate and extended family, killing three children and three adults and leaving his wife in critical condition, before killing himself.
After the controversy of building the Northside Library, a library that was part of North Santa Clara development for many years, the library opened on August 9, 2014. Redevelopment agency funding that was used to build the library was challenged by the County of Santa Clara and the State of California. Advocacy on the part of the Santa Clara Library Foundation and Friends, the Rivermark community and Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski was a success in opening this long-awaited library that is used by many.
Rivermark represents a significant portion of the City of Santa Clara's push for growth since 2000, having contributed to the citywide demographic shifts from half white to minority-majority within the following decade.