Making room for history: Sunnyvale approves $1.5M expansion of Heritage Park Museum

THE LEGACY OF SUNNYVALE The Park Museum, which documents the city’s history from the first orchards to aerospace companies, plans to expand.

The Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved a $1.5 million allocation from the city’s Parks Dedication Fund to add 1,600 square feet to the Sunnyvale Museum. The museum hopes to install an exhibit focusing on local technological advances made during the Cold War to support the United States National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia.

Museum director Laura Babcock said the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association has been trying to raise money for the expansion for three and a half years, but construction costs have skyrocketed since the project was proposed.

White-haired woman in a pink blazer examining the Lockheed exhibit, which features model missiles and rockets, old telephones and newspaper clippings, all on a model engineer's desk — The Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association hopes to use $1.5 million from the city to build a 1,600-square-foot expansion, most of which will house an exhibit on the city’s Cold War history. (B. Sakura Cannestra/Spotlight on San José)

“Five years ago, I could have built this thing for less than $800,000. Now I’m barely going to get by on $1.5 (million) to $1.8 (million) dollars,” Babcock told San José Spotlight. “The cost just keeps increasing.”

City spokeswoman Jennifer Garnett said Sunnyvale’s budget will be finalized in June. City staff will negotiate funding details with the historical society before funds are distributed, which could happen as soon as July.

Once funds are secured, Babcock said the historical society will launch a fundraising campaign to hopefully raise an additional $500,000. She wants construction to begin as soon as possible and if all goes well, the expansion could open within the next two years.

“Five years ago, I could have built this thing for less than $800,000. Now I’m barely going to get by on $1.5 (million) to $1.8 (million) dollars. The cost just keeps increasing.

Laura Babcock, Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association

“(There’s) a great sense of relief to finally be able to start something we’ve wanted to do for years,” Babcock said.

The expansion was first proposed in 2019, when council members at the time suggested the historical society conduct an environmental impact study, specifically on how the expansion could affect the orchard neighbor.

An environmental study was officially ordered in February 2020 and fully funded by the historical society. Babcock said the COVID-19 pandemic has made fundraising difficult, as money intended for community projects has been redirected to more pressing needs, like supporting homeless residents.

The review cost about $78,000 and was completed in 2022. It found no environmental issues, Babcock said.

The expansion was first proposed in 2019 and the Sunnyvale City Council suggested that an environmental impact study be completed, specifically on how the expansion could affect the neighboring orchard. (B. Sakura Cannestra/Spotlight on San José)

More than a dozen supporters, including many museum volunteers, attended the meeting in support of the expansion.

All council members enthusiastically supported the expansion. Board member Linda Sell said she enjoyed the third-grade museum tours, held three days a week at nearly every elementary school serving Sunnyvale residents. Council member Murali Srinivasan also highlighted the museum’s exhibit on the history of technology, which he said he appreciates as a technologist.

The Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association has been trying to raise money for the expansion for three and a half years. (B. Sakura Cannestra/Spotlight on San José)

The expansion will also include a research library, which Councilor Richard Mehlinger said will support any researchers hoping to obtain information about the area.

“The museum is a tremendous asset to our community,” Mehlinger said. “I approach this question not only from the perspective of someone who studied there, but also as someone who studied history at the tertiary level. »

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This story was originally published in San Jose Spotlight.