Council Directs a Closer Look at Neighborhood Housing Density

San Jose City Council spent hours on Aug. 18 hearing from residents before voting 8-3 to study several density options rather than lock in a single number. Staff will now analyze 16, 24 and 32 dwelling units per acre in Residential Neighborhood areas that currently sit at about eight units per acre, along with parking standards. A finished proposal is slated to return for a final decision late in 2027.

The debate sits inside the four-year review of Envision San José 2040. Planners had floated a jump to 32 units per acre on most of the city’s residential land as a way to add “missing middle” homes: duplexes, fourplexes, townhomes and small multifamily buildings that sit between a single house and a large apartment block. Mixed-use corridors and Urban Residential areas, including parts of Downtown San Jose, also appeared in the package with higher proposed ranges and extra stories.

State housing targets explain the urgency. San Jose must plan for more than 62,000 additional units between 2023 and 2031. Production so far has lagged that pace, and large apartment projects have struggled to find financing. City housing officials told the council that smaller, scattered buildings can pencil out without heavy public subsidy and can give middle-income households more choices.

Neighbors who filled the chamber raised traffic, street parking and the look of established blocks. Several council members asked staff to treat the city as a collection of different places rather than one uniform map. The study period will include more outreach, environmental review and work on design standards so any future rules can respect existing street patterns while still adding homes.

Anyone who cares about where the next generation of San Jose families will live now has more than a year to follow the details. The city that already mixes Downtown towers with tree-lined streets is trying to decide how those two scales can grow together. That conversation, handled carefully, is how San Jose keeps room for teachers, nurses, restaurant crews and young households without losing the neighborhoods people already love.

Additional information on the General Plan Four-Year Review is available through the City of San Jose Planning Division.

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal

Holland Partner Group Buys the Stevens Creek Corner for 575 Apartments

Holland Partner Group closed on the 4.7-acre corner at 3896 Stevens Creek Boulevard this week, paying $22.3 million according to documents filed August 26 at the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office. Local families that include Joseph Rubino Jr. sold the land. The purchase locks in a project the city already entitled: two eight-story buildings with 575 apartments at Saratoga Avenue and Stevens Creek, a few blocks from Northlake Drive and about two miles west of Valley Fair and Santana Row.

Building 1 will face Saratoga and hold 264 units. Building 2 will front Stevens Creek near Northlake with 311. Twenty-nine apartments are slated for very-low-income households, a band the state currently sets at $71,950 for one person and $102,750 for a family of four in Santa Clara County, against area medians of $143,850 and $205,500. Ground floors will carry about 13,600 square feet of retail, split 7,600 and 6,000 between the two buildings. Plans also call for roughly 25,000 square feet of amenity space, including fitness rooms, co-working, clubrooms, lobbies, and podium pool decks. TCA Architects drew the metal, screen, stone, and stucco faces. A public plaza is mapped to the busy corner.

That corner used to be headed in the opposite direction. Cypress Equities had an entitled 882,000-square-foot office and retail scheme that once included a large Life Time athletic club. Office demand collapsed, and Holland flipped the site to housing. San Jose made the project its first approval under the city’s streamlined ministerial ordinance in December 2025, cutting a process that often takes about 20 months down to eight. The count later grew from earlier 532- and 540-unit versions to 575. Existing low-rise shops, including Hokkaido Buffet, are slated for demolition. Across the boulevard, CRP Affordable Housing is already building 59 income-restricted units at 3941 Stevens Creek.

The Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan asked for exactly this kind of swap: parking lots and strip frontage turned into housing, shops, and sidewalks wide enough that people might linger. Holland’s filings promise a stronger pedestrian edge and a Class IV bike lane along the project frontage. Westsiders who drive that intersection every day will notice the height first. The more useful test comes later, when the retail actually opens and the 29 below-market units lease to the households the paperwork names.

Construction timing and cost have not been published. The deed is recorded. The drawings are approved. The next visible change on that corner will be the wrecking of the buffet and the start of two towers where an office campus never arrived.

Source: The Mercury News

City Council Rezones IBM Almaden Site to Balance Open Space and Future Use

San Jose City Council voted 9-2 on Tuesday to rezone the former IBM Almaden Research Center property at 650 Harry Road. The decision splits the site into two distinct categories: 35.1 acres containing the research buildings become an industrial park zoning district, while the remaining 565.1 acres of surrounding vacant land receive open space zoning.

IBM is closing the Almaden campus and consolidating operations at its Silicon Valley Lab on Bailey Road. The property is now on the market. City planning staff reported that several real estate groups have already inquired about possible future uses for the developed portion, ranging from research and development to advanced manufacturing or general office space.

The rezoning does not approve any specific project. Land-use consultant Erik Schoennauer, representing a potential buyer, told the council the change simply aligns the site with the city’s general plan. It keeps the large open-space area in its current natural state while allowing the existing industrial buildings to return to productive use more efficiently.

More than 30 residents spoke during the public hearing, many urging the council to slow the process and raise concerns about possible data centers or other intensive industrial activity. Councilmember George Casey, whose district includes the property, argued that delaying the vote would not change the underlying need to update the zoning. Mayor Matt Mahan emphasized the shared goal of protecting the open space that IBM had long maintained.

The dual zoning aims to keep the hillsides and undeveloped land intact while giving the built campus a clearer path toward new economic activity once a buyer steps forward.

Source: SiliconValley.com

CityView Retail Moves Forward While Housing Plans Shift to New Construction in Downtown San Jose

Construction has started on the retail phase of Jay Paul Company’s CityView project at the corner of Park Avenue and Almaden Boulevard in Downtown San Jose. The first phase will deliver roughly 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space beneath a new parking garage, with completion targeted for early 2028.

The retail mix is still taking shape. Planners are exploring shops, restaurants, health and wellness businesses, and child-care options, with ongoing conversations about whether a smaller-format grocery could fit. Jay Paul has also talked with San Jose State University about letting students use dining credits at future CityView eateries, aiming to serve office workers, nearby residents, convention visitors, and campus traffic.

On the residential side, the company has decided to pursue ground-up construction rather than converting existing office buildings. Seismic retrofit costs for conversion proved nearly as expensive as new builds, so the team is now designing purpose-built housing with architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz. The change allows better layouts tailored specifically for apartments.

These steps keep momentum going on a large mixed-use block that sits near 200 Park and the convention center. As the retail spaces fill and residential designs firm up, the project will add more daily activity to the streets of Downtown San Jose... we'll just need a little bit of patience.

Source: SVBJ

Icon Echo Advances with 645 Homes Near City Hall in Downtown San Jose

Urban Catalyst’s Icon Echo project is moving forward with plans for two eight-story residential buildings that will deliver 645 new apartments in Downtown San Jose. The development covers a 2.1-acre site along North Fourth Street between East Santa Clara Street and East Saint John Street, across from San Jose City Hall and a short walk from Saint James Park.

The unit mix includes 233 studios, 272 one-bedrooms, and 140 two-bedrooms, with 33 of the homes deed-restricted as affordable. Each building rises to 89 feet and features podium-top courtyards, ground-level parking with stackers totaling 527 spaces, and a small retail space on the Icon building. Architect BDE Architecture has designed the exteriors with brick veneer, stucco, and cast stone panels.

A Planning Director’s hearing on the site development permit and vesting tentative map took place on August 12, with city staff recommending approval. The project represents a shift from earlier mixed-use concepts that included office space, reflecting the current emphasis on adding housing in the urban core.

Once built, the complex will place hundreds of new residents within easy reach of transit, civic buildings, and the daily activity of Downtown San Jose. The mid-rise scale fits the surrounding blocks while contributing meaningful density to an area that continues to evolve.

Source: SF YIMBY

A Faster Path for Diridon Station’s Transformation

California lawmakers took a meaningful step last week when the Assembly Appropriations Committee approved SB 1375 and sent it to the full Assembly. The measure creates a targeted exemption from California Environmental Quality Act review for qualifying urban intermodal rail station modernization projects that meet environmental, labor, and community standards while limiting construction impacts and protecting against displacement. Authored by Senator Dave Cortese of San Jose, the bill positions the long-planned overhaul of Diridon Station to move forward with fewer redundant delays.

Diridon already functions as a critical node on the western edge of Downtown San Jose, serving Caltrain, Amtrak, ACE, and VTA light rail and bus lines. Future service will layer in BART through the Silicon Valley Phase II extension, additional Capitol Corridor trains, and California high-speed rail. The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s 2026 business plan targets extension of service from the Central Valley to San Jose and San Francisco by 2039. Partner agencies including the City of San Jose, Caltrain, VTA, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the High-Speed Rail Authority selected an at-grade station alternative in 2025 that keeps tracks near today’s street level while rebuilding platforms, the historic depot, public plazas, and street connections. Normal environmental review for that program was projected to consume three to four years before design and construction could fully advance.

Streamlining the state environmental process while federal NEPA review continues could shave years off the timeline for a facility expected to handle nearly 100,000 daily passengers once complete. That scale of connectivity supports denser housing and jobs within walking distance of frequent transit, eases highway congestion, and advances the region’s climate targets. Mayor Matt Mahan has described Diridon as poised to become the busiest transit hub west of the Mississippi, provided modernization does not stall. Councilmember Michael Mulcahy has likewise framed the station as a foundation for sustainable growth that links jobs, sports venues, and neighborhoods across Downtown San Jose and the South Bay.

Passage of SB 1375 would not eliminate every review or community conversation. It would, however, remove one layer of duplication for a project that has already undergone years of planning, design alternatives analysis, and public input. For a city investing heavily in transit-oriented development around Diridon, including Google’s Downtown West project, the difference between a delayed station and a completed one will shape daily life for decades.

Source: SVBJ

AES Drops Plans for Large Battery Storage Project in Coyote Valley

AES Corporation announced this week that it has canceled its proposed Jewelflower Battery Energy Storage System on a 128-acre site of prime farmland in North Coyote Valley near Morgan Hill. The 350-megawatt project would have placed hundreds of containerized lithium-ion battery units across roughly 40 acres of actively farmed land on San Jose’s southern edge.

The company cited a review of project economics, infrastructure needs, market conditions, community input, and long-term priorities. No permit application had been filed. Local opposition had grown steadily, with the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority voting unanimously in May against the plan. Authority leaders pointed to more than $160 million already invested by voters and agencies to protect wildlife corridors, groundwater recharge, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture in the Coyote Valley Conservation Program area.

Parents at the nearby Charter School of Morgan Hill, state legislators including Senator Dave Cortese and Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Gail Pellerin, and a petition that collected more than 2,200 signatures had also raised concerns about placing industrial-scale batteries so close to a school and inside a conserved landscape. A previous battery project known as Hummingbird had already been successfully moved to an industrial site behind the Open Space Authority’s San Jose headquarters, showing that better locations exist.

The cancellation keeps Coyote Valley’s open fields and hills available for the wildlife movement, farming, and public access that make the area a vital buffer and natural asset for San Jose and the South Bay. AES continues to pursue battery storage elsewhere in California, while this decision reinforces that energy infrastructure and protected landscapes can both advance when projects are sited with care.

Source: San Jose Inside

Bank Takes Ownership of Vacant Housing Site in Downtown San Jose

The empty lot at 51 and 65 Notre Dame Avenue next to Carlysle Street in Downtown San Jose passed to West Coast Community Bank earlier this year after the lender completed foreclosure on a $10 million loan. An affiliate of Palo Alto-based Acquity Realty had paid $20 million for the four parcels in 2021, cleared the former Andy’s Pet Shop building, and never broke ground on any of its successive plans.

Early visions called for a 21-story mixed-use tower that would have combined housing, office space, and ground-floor retail. Later marketing materials scaled the idea back to a 148-unit mid-rise with roughly 4,700 square feet of street-level shops. Neither version advanced beyond drawings, and repeated loan defaults eventually transferred the property to the bank for $2.3 million in January.

The site sits in a compact, walkable pocket of Downtown San Jose close to transit corridors and the broader Diridon area. Bank ownership opens the door for a new buyer to step in and deliver the housing that has long been discussed for the corner. Local residents who have watched the parcel remain idle through several ownership chapters now have reason to expect fresh movement.

A successful redevelopment here would add homes and street-level activity to a part of Downtown that continues to evolve. The location’s proximity to existing amenities and future growth projects gives any incoming owner a strong foundation to build upon.

Source: SiliconValley.com

San Jose Posts Strong Second Place in Silicon Valley Housing Completions

Silicon Valley added more than 9,000 new housing units in 2025, according to state data, with San Jose finishing second behind Santa Clara. The city completed 2,192 units while Santa Clara led the region with 2,685.

Four cities in the area finished more than 1,000 units each. High construction costs continue to shape which projects move forward, yet the overall numbers reflect steady progress toward regional needs. Santa Clara’s total benefited from projects that secured financing earlier, particularly in the Clara District and the first phase of Gateway Crossings.

Morgan Hill completed just 35 units last year but sits on track to meet its state-assigned RHNA target of 1,037 homes for the 2023-31 cycle, with stronger permitting activity already showing in the first half of 2026. San Jose carries the largest regional obligation at more than 62,000 units over the same period.

The results highlight ongoing efforts across the South Bay to expand the housing supply. Continued collaboration between cities and developers will determine whether the momentum carries into the next several years as communities work to meet long-term goals.

Source: SVBJ

Eight-story apartment building proposed near future San Jose Google campus

A restaurant called Con Sabor a Mexico on 500 West San Carlos Street might become the site of an eight-story apartment building. The address is significant since it's in the "Downtown West" neighborhood that Google eventually wants to turn into an urban campus in the Downtown San Jose.

The proposed building would have 90 apartments across eight floors, and 2,670 SQFT of ground-floor retail. Based on the initial render it looks like it will include some amount of parking. I don't quite understand the grid on one side of the building. Those could be some form of child-safe balconies or interior hallways that allow airflow to pass through.

Even without factoring for the Google campus, the location is a few blocks away from Diridon station and a few blocks away from Discovery Meadow and the Guadalupe River trail. The site would be extremely convenient for Adobe employees as well.

So far the development plans are preliminary and there is no formal ETA.

Source: The Mercury News

Urban Catalyst moving forward with two high-rise residential towers near San Jose City Hall, updates plans and renders

One of Downtown San Jose's most ambitious developers and proponents has acquired the final puzzle piece needed to built its two towers named Echo and Icon. They purchased a parking lot on North Fourth Street across from Miro that completes the space necessary for their project. 

Echo is a 27-story residential tower with 415 homes. Icon was supposed to be a 22-story office building, but given the state of the market they are planning to convert it to a 26-story residential tower with 650 units instead.

Below are the updated renders envisioning Icon as a residential tower as opposed to office. Icon is the tower on the left bordering Santa Clara Street. It would replace a space previously used as a gas station along Downtown San Jose's main street.

There is no estimated timeline, but I hope Echo and Icon come sooner rather than later. Injecting over 1,000 homes into the central part of Downtown San Jose with easy access to transit (including a future BART station) would help accelerate its transition to a thriving 24x7 urban center. 

Source: SVBJ, SF YIMBY

Previous Renders:

April 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Read the APRIL 2023 Downtown Dimension
 
This month's highlights:

• SJDA's Street Life team plans to take strategic action that brightens downtown streets with enhanced lighting features meant to appeal to pedestrians, help them feel more comfortable and connect the more active parts of downtown that already exhibit nighttime vibrancy.
• Spirits are high as downtown's outdoor event season opens this month in San Jose with Viva Calle on April 23 and MACLA Family Art Day / SoFA Street Fair doubling up on April 30.
• Five ideas that would contribute to downtown's revitalization are winding their way through the City's budget process for Fiscal Year 2023-24, which begins in July.
• Brenda Zendejas assists with Business Resiliency in Downtown and Alum Rock areas.
• Javier Montoya becomes Groundwerx's first full-time painter.
• Hula Bar and Kitchen, which made its name with food trucks and as stadium food vendors, has opened its first full-time locations on East Santa Clara Street.

March 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Read the MARCH  2023 Downtown Dimension
 
This month's highlights:

• A Downtown Vibrancy team of downtowners handed the Mayor and City Council  a list of recommendations of how downtown can improve, and the Council may consider some of them for additional funding in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 cycle. Four other teams dealing with other topics also had some downtown-related suggestions.  They are all outlined in the March edition.
• In keeping with the vibrancy theme, San Jose Downtown Association will host a Town Hall Meeting March 9 starting at 4:30 p.m. at Open San Jose, 38 S. Second St. Please attend to learn more about SJDA and how you can get involved in creating a more robust downtown. Register here.
• The other theme of the March edition is about downtown businesses that are going "all in:"
  • Cafe Eden and The Loft are back in business after prolonged closures due to Covid and its lingering effects. Their owners explain what got them back in the game.
  • New-businesses Slice of Homage pizza and Little Wine House, both grew from pandemic-related roots and feature chefs who spent their years of seclusion wisely in training.  
  • And "Littlest Little Italy" (Say that fast three times in a row!) just opened. It divides the 5,000-square-foot, former Enoteca La Storia restaurant into five businesses that pair very well with one another. 
• Say hello to Mark Michaud, who returned to San Jose and has made his mark in a very short time on keeping downtown clean with Groundwerx. 

Please share this subscription information with your neighbors and employees so they can stay up-to-date on downtown business news and information of general interest through Downtown Dimension:

• Click on E-News at the top of SJdowntown.com;
• Click on "Subscribe" near the bottom of most Web pages on SJdowntown.com, or
• Send an email to rjensen@sjdowntown.com with the subject: "Subscribe."

February 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Read the FEBRUARY 2023 Downtown Dimension   This month's highlights: San Jose Downtown Association CEO Alex Stettinski has had a very busy and active first months and likes what he has seen so far of downtown San Jose.  Looking ahead, he's ready to take more important steps toward an improved and more prosperous center city. Downtown city council rep Omar Torres, who was sworn into his elected position in January, answers our questions in the tradition of our incoming District 3 representatives. To keep up with the times and bring news and information to downtown businesses and more downtown audiences, Downtown Dimension will make a transition to an all-digital format starting this spring. Workingman's Emporium is making plans to move. That store and its owner, Gary Wing, have seen it all after 54 years in downtown. Thang Le, owner of several local Lee's Sandwiches locations, is modernizing the menu and concept for a new generation of customers. Like so many Groundwerx Clean Team members, Joel Ramirez went beyond the call of duty during the recent storms to keep downtown "ship-shape." Please be sure you click through to read this edition! Business owners and subscribers: Please share this subscription information with your neighbors and employees so they can stay up-to-date on downtown business news and information of general interest. To subscrbe: Click on E-News at the top of SJdowntown.com; Click on "Subscribe" at the bottom of most Web pages on SJdowntown.com, or Send an email to rjensen@sjdowntown.com with the subject: "Subscribe."

January 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Download the JANUARY 2023 Downtown Dimension.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:

• Downtown Property Owners approved more Clean and Safe services starting in 2023 and Dimension reports on what has already happened and what is planned as Groundwerx ramps up services.
• SJDA Board President Alan "Gumby" Marques writes a letter of hope and optimism for the new year.
• San Jose's City Council approved an extension of incentives for developers to build more residences downtown over the next seven years.
• Restaurateurs Carlos and Fernanda Carreira have ventured into the nightclub business with Noite, on the second floor above their SoFA restaurant Petiscos
• Entrepreneurs continue to invest in downtown. This time, it's The Selfie Spot, a special place to be creative.
• Groundwerx safety ambassador Victoria Manzanares shows how taking the initiative pays off.

December 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Download the December 2022 Downtown Dimension.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• Raul Peralez reflects on eight years as San Jose's downtown councilmember.  "What we avoided was our biggest win for downtown San Jose," he says.  Find out what that is.   
• Lights are on along a key block of South Second Street as a collective of non-profits unlock the doors of Open San Jose.
• Restaurateurs continue to invest in downtown San Jose. Introducing the owners of Mommy's Banh Mi, Casa Guzmania and Egghead Sando Cafe.
• Sandy Gomez changed the trajectory of her career much to the benefit of downtown when she joined Groundwerx.
• Aloha Downtown Skate joins Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland at the top of the list of downtown events continuing through this month.

November 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The November 2022 Downtown Dimension is available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• During a month of transition -- the first of its kind at the San Jose Downtown Association -- our new CEO Alex Stettinski absorbed as much as he could from Outgoing CEO Scott Knies, who wrapped up as much as he could.  
• At the Annual Meeting Oct. 14, Stettinski expressed his excitement about coming to San Jose and a promise to give downtown his all.  And in his final State of the Downtown speech, Knies provided a list of things that have taken up his time and still have not been completed.
• Look for a new holiday tradition on skates and in the Circle of Palms when Aloha Downtown Roller Rink opens Nov. 19.
• Other traditional events return downtown for the holidays, including Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland.  In November, just about every arts group has something to offer for audiences of all kinds.  
• The entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive in downtown San Jose, where several businesses have recently opened.  Have a look at the thoughts and dreams of owners of Ashy Aromas, Suerte Eatery, Tiny Keyboard Shop and Woofboard.  The list is even longer, so look for more openings in our next edition.

October 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The October 2022 Downtown Dimension is available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• BART has made much progress this past month on its plans to bore under downtown to build stations along its line down Santa Clara Street to the City of Santa Clara.
• Caltrain moved to the front of the line, claiming "dibs" on 1.1 million square feet of office development on land it owns in front of Diridon Station.
• This year's Annual Meeting will be unique.  We provided a link in the pdf you can link to for easy access to voting for Board members and to fill out the end-of-year survey.  The electronic version of Dimension should have more links in the future.
• Celebrate a new batch of Downtown Doors.
• Learn more about Christina Ruiz doing what it takes to earn a nod as Groundwerx Employee of the Month
• San Jose Marriott has a new owner, part of a huge nationwide transaction of resort and upscale urban hotels.
• ABVE the Basics shows how to take over a kitchen to cook up modern Mexican food.
• Businesses can buy transit passes for all its employees for a year and be reimbursed from the City Department of Transportation
• Take a look back at our regular From the Archives feature, which offers glimpses at what was going on 10, 20, 25 and 30 years ago in downtown San Jose.

September 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The September 2022 Downtown Dimension is available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• Learn about startup development company Nabr's plans for SoFA, starting with three towers of condos and breaking ground on the first 140 units this winter.
• Progress being made on BART design improvements to proposed lines under downtown San Jose.
• Juan Carlos Aguirre's background fits perfectly into his new assignment with SJDA as Community Engagement Manager, 
• Groundwerx Employee of the Month Jesse Velo is an ardent supporter of public transportation, resulting in a thorough knowledge of downtown that comes in handy when visitors request directions.
• SJDA's street life team creates an urban botanical garden.
• 1 Culture art store joins eclectic lineup of businesses along the block of East Santa Clara Street between Third and Fourth streets
• Do you have an idea for a community event or public activation? Apply this month for the Mayor's Abierto program, a celebration of the city's post pandemic re-opening.

August 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The August 2022 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• Meet Alex Stettinski, SJDA's next CEO, who answers some questions about his experiences in Southern California and Reno and how they could relate to his work starting soon in San Jose.
• The downtown event schedule for August includes some of San Jose's biggest festivals, and the total audience could approach 200,000.
• Business news includes a switch for 3Below, which plans to hold a musical Up on the Roof in August; and Serious Dumpling co-owner Phebe Shen, who worked through the first two years of the pandemic to create the menu and concept for her new and popular restaurant on San Pedro Square. 
• Groundwerx Employee of the Month Rico Montenegro wakes up every morning at 2 a.m. and pressure-washes downtown's city blocks before most people wake up.