Sunnyvale approves history museum expansion

The Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum, which catalogs the city’s history from the first orchards to aerospace companies, has plans to expand.

The Sunnyvale City Council unanimously approved a $1.5 million allocation out of the city’s Park Dedication fund toward adding 1,600 square feet to the Sunnyvale museum. The museum hopes to install an exhibit dedicated to local technological advancements 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 fundraise for the expansion for the last three and a half years, but construction costs have been soaring since the project’s proposal.

“Five years ago, I could have built this thing for less than $800,000. Now, I’ll barely get by with between $1.5 (million) and $1.8 (million),” Babcock told San José Spotlight. “The cost is just rising continuously.”

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

After funds are secured, Babcock said the historical society will launch a fundraising campaign to hopefully bring in another $500,000. She wants construction to start as soon as possible and if everything goes well, the expansion could open in the next two years.

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

The expansion was first proposed in 2019, when councilmembers at the time suggested the historical society conduct an environmental impact review, specifically on how the expansion might affect the neighboring orchard.

A environmental review was officially ordered in February 2020 and fully funded by the historical society. Babcock said the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to fundraise, as money for community projects were redirected to more pressing needs, such as supporting homeless residents.

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

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

All the councilmembers enthusiastically supported the expansion. Councilmember Linda Sell said she appreciated the museum’s third grade tours, given three days a week to nearly all of the elementary schools serving Sunnyvale residents. Councilmember Murali Srinivasan also highlighted the museum’s exhibit on the history of technology, which he said he appreciated as a technologist.

The expansion will also include a research library, which Councilmember Richard Mehlinger pointed out will support any scholars hoping for information on the region.

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

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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