Unique open house in South San Jose this Saturday - 6810 Canine Court

Everyone complains about affordability in San Jose, but there are still some really interesting opportunities if you know where to look. There is a very unique townhome-style condo for sale in South San Jose in a brand new neighborhood near the intersection of 101 and 85. 

It's a massive 2,506 SQFT home with 4 oversized bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms. That makes it larger than most single family homes in San Jose, yet the listing price is only $555 a square foot.

Costco is literally across the street and several great restaurants are minutes away (I highly recommend Blossom and Bourbon). It also has great parks within the community with bocce ball, basketball, multiple playgrounds for the kids, an outdoor gym, and gated dog park. The Santa Teresa Light Rail station is a 15min walk or 4min bike ride away.

My wife is the realtor and is hosting an open house this weekend from 1-4pm on Saturday with free bubbly and an assortment of appetizers highlighting a highly-rated local San Jose eatery. Last week was Pasteleria Adega and this week it will be something new but equally as awesome. Even if you're not looking for a new home, swing on by to check out the neighborhood and talk San Jose. The address is 6810 Canine Court in San Jose.

Be one of the first 8 groups to mention The San Jose Blog and take home a bottle of either Prosecco or Rosé.

San Jose student housing tower with a stunning penthouse

A 25-story tower with 210 residential units is proposed for 439 South Fourth Street, a kitty corner away from SJSU. The 274-foot tall building would cater towards SJSU students and faculty. The exact breakdown is 63 two-bedroom, 21, three bedroom, 84 four-bedroom, and 42 five-bedroom (!) units.

Amenities would include a pool, gym, dog park, community rooms, study rooms, office space, and a shared rooftop area with breathtaking views. It is great to see developers finally try to fully utilize penthouse space in San Jose with shared amenity space. We have amazing views in Silicon Valley, you just have to get high enough to take it all in.

The site currently has a 30-unit apartment building and a single-family house converted to commercial uses.

Source: The Mercury News, SVBJ

Spartan Keyes neighborhood getting new townhomes in place of industrial building

Valley Oak Partners has plans to redevelop a single-story industrial building on a 3.87-acre site into 68 townhomes. The three-story townhomes would be split into 12 two-bedroom 2.5-bath units, 28 three-bedroom 3-bath units, and 28 three-bedroom 2.5-bath units with an optional 4th bedroom. Sizes range between 1,428 SQFT to 2,030 SQFT.

This project is worth mentioning as there are very few new options with a family-friendly four-bedroom configuration, and there will be up to 28 of those units here. 

The location is very central, close to Downtown San Jose and blocks away from amenities like Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, Kelley Park, History San Jose, and Sharks Ice. An action park is also being planned nearby. At the same time, the neighborhood is an odd mix of both residential and industrial uses. This leads me to believe the townhomes will be reasonably priced relative to other projects of similar size in Silicon Valley.

Source: SVBJ

Six-story office building to be replaced with townhomes

Over 100 homes could replace an office building in North San Jose, but there is a twist. The proposed project at 2107 North First St. would include 105 townhomes right next to the headquarters of PayPal and several other tech companies in the golden triangle of North San Jose. It has easy access to VTA Light Rail and in general is in a prime location.

Ready for the twist? In order to make room for those townhomes, a perfectly good 6-story office building would be torn down. While I understand the need to convert more office space to housing in order to balance supply and demand of each real estate use, this seems like a step backwards. Silicon Valley townhomes are typically three stories and in some rare cases four stories. 

If they are tearing down a whole office building, why not go with high-density housing? This site could easily support high-rises taller than Downtown San Jose. Townhomes do not seem like the best use for this land.

Source: The Mercury News

Affordable housing headed for Cambrian Park

Adobe Communities is proposing a 100% affordable housing project across from Cambrian Park Plaza. The six-story building at 1999 Camden Avenue would feature 90 residential units: nine studios, 30 one bedroom units, 26 two-bedrooms, and 25 with three bedrooms. It would also include a courtyard, 1,600 SQFT community room, study rooms, and a laundry facility.

Cambrian Park Plaza is also destined to add more housing with a major mixed-use development on the horizon. This would be a larger-scale project with 58,000 SQFT of retail, 305 apartment units, townhomes, a few rare single family homes, an assisted living facility, a hotel, and several new parks.

Source: SVBJ

The Fay, Downtown San Jose's newest residential high-rise is almost complete

SoFA's shiny new 23-story high-rise is still on schedule to welcome its first residents in 2025. The building started construction in 2022 and already has had a major impact on the Downtown San Jose skyline. Below are a few recent photos for your enjoyment from my favorite online forum.

Amenities include a 24/7 concierge, co-working spaces, community lounges, and 5,000 SQFT of new retail on the ground floor. Best of all, it will have the amenity I have been clamoring for... a rooftop pool and amenity deck complete with cabanas, the gym, a sky garden, and BBQ grills. San Jose weather and Downtown San Jose's central location with views of the valley make it an ideal place for a heated rooftop pool and this will be the first high-rise building in San Jose to have this feature. In fact, it will be one of only three in the whole Bay Area I'm aware of when it's ready in 2025, the other two being built right now in Santa Clara.

Source: aphelion2100 from Skyscraper City

Eye-catching residential towers could rise near Valley Fair and Santana Row

If there ever was an area ripe for high-rise development outside of Downtown it would be right around our shopping mecca of Valley Fair and Santana Row. While it has limited transit, the area is flush with shopping, dining, and jobs.

A two-tower project has been proposed to replace a dilapidated building at 826 North Winchester Blvd. The project would consist of 135 residential units (70 one-bedroom and 65 two-bedroom units), 20 of which would be affordable. There would also be 13,000 SQFT of open space, 6,000 SQFT of terrace space, and 7,500 SQFT of amenity space.

The top floors would have amazing views in all directions, including views of neighboring Downtown San Jose. Another impressive feature is a sky bridge connecting the two towers and likely featuring outdoor and amenity space with views.

If this comes to fruition, it'll be the new standard for development going forward in "uptown" San Jose.

Source: The Mercury News

New renders for affordable housing in Alviso/North San Jose

Next to the Topgolf towards the very north of San Jose are plans for multiple projects. One of the more significant ones involves 780 apartments sitting on top of 16,200 SQFT of retail. The apartments would be split into eight buildings up to seven-stories tall.

The design isn't glamourous, but if it helps keep the prices reasonable I'm all for it. We definitely need more housing in this area which is near the bulk of Silicon Valley tech jobs.  

Source: SF YIMBY

Plans to convert medical office to housing near Santana Row

This is a relatively small project, but an interesting one due to it's location and density for the surrounding area. There is a proposal in play to demolish three single-story commercial buildings at 2881 Hemlock, 376 Baywood, and 384 Baywood and replace them with a six-story mixed-use building.

The structure would have 18,825 SQFT of commercial space on the ground floor (potentially commercial condos) and 75 "high-end" residential condos on the upper floors. The condos would be a mix of 1-3 bedroom units. There would also be 100 parking spaces in two underground parking levels.

In terms of location, it is a two-block walk to Santana Row and short walk to Valley Fair. This is a prime area for redevelopment.

Source: SVBJ

Two new housing projects between Downtown and Midtown San Jose

Two new housing projects are being built right at 363 Delmas Avenue and 425 Auzerais Avenue, which are on just on the other side of Highway 87 across from the Children's Discovery Museum. This is in sort of a gray area where Downtown starts crossing into Midtown.

The project on Delmas (first two images below) will have 120 residential units while Auzerais (last image) will have 64 homes for homeless and 66 units reserved for low-income housing. Amenities will include a fitness loop, community garden, and computer learning center.

Both projects are a few blocks away from Diridon and the proposed Google Campus.

Source: SF YIMBY

San Jose is using AI to scan streets for homeless people's cars

The city of San Jose is piloting using car-mounted cameras and AI software by SenSen.AI to scan for vehicles that people are living in. Why would we do this? The pilot was actually launched to systematically find all sorts of issues including potholes, trash, graffiti, parking validations, and illegal encampments. However, the encampments are the most controversial aspect of the scanning.

If the technology was fully deployed, then city staff could respond by sending outreach workers to small encampments before they become large ones. However, the accuracy was quite low with only 10-15% accuracy for lived-in cars and 70-75% for RVs. 

The intention of proactive outreach is positive despite the Black-Mirrorish nature of the pilot. Whether the program will move forward is yet to be determined, but both privacy and homeless-rights advocates are up-in-arms over this initiative. This may be one of the first projects of its kind but it definitely won't be the last. Hopefully there is a way to run these pilots ethically with respect to all parties involved.

Source: SFGATE

203 homes proposed off of East Capital Expressway

MidPen Housing is planning to build a 100% affordable housing project at the intersection of East Capitol Expressway and Narvaez Avenue. This is right next to a VTA transit station on East Capital Expressway.

The project would consist of 203 homes divided into studios, 1bd, 2bd, and 3bd units spread across two buildings connected by an open-air elevated walkway. The proposal has already been fast-tracked and only requires the approval of the Planning Department.

There is no official ETA for construction as MidPen is currently seeking financing for the project.

Source: Mercury News

Thousands of homes proposed at site of the former Pleasant Hills Golf Course

There are 114 acres of prime real estate that have been idly sitting around for the past twenty years in East San Jose. The former site of Pleasant Hills Golf Course at the corner of South White Road and Tully Road could become up to 3,991 residences.

Lakeside Community real estate ventures are proposing rezoning and redeveloping the land. They received positive support from the local community for the project, which would provide significant benefits to the local economy in the area.

Given the massive size, hopefully it will be designed as a mixed-use development with a mix of restaurants, retail, and entertainment. However, even if it is pure housing it would help address our supply problems--especially considering that some form of affordable housing is a given in a project this large in San Jose.

Source: The Mercury News

Historic Burbank Theater may be incorporated into a San Jose housing project

A historic theater that opened in 1951 but has been closed since the year 2000 may be reincarnated as housing. The proposal would keep the front section of the theater, including it's highly recognizable sign that represents the Burbank neighborhood, and the original lobby. 

As for the rest of the project, 62 apartments and ground floor retail would be tightly packaged in a five-story building at 552 South Bascom Avenue. The apartments would be split between studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom units. At least some of the homes would be designated as affordable housing.

Another fun fact, this area was not technically part of San Jose. It was unincorporated land that is run by Santa Clara County, but is in the process of being annexed into San Jose proper.

Source: The Mercury News

New housing development proposed in North San Jose

250 apartments are being eyed in North San Jose at North First Street between Charcot and East Brokaw. Currently there is a 122,500 SQFT six-story office building on the site. It's not clear if this is an office conversion or they are planning to tear down and replace the building. Given the size of the building there already, my bet is on an office-to-housing conversion.

Source: The Mercury News

Abandoned youth center will turn into affordable housing for teachers

A blighted building that used to have classrooms, a gym, and track for the Mexican American Community Services Agency is going to be torn down to make way for a much needed project--housing for teachers. The Alum Rock Union School District is planning to build 78 homes across the 23-acre site which has sat vacant for over 10 years.

Housing costs are completely out of control and if we want our kids to be able to have a decent education, teachers need a place to live. The subsidized housing will go a lot way to attract talent to Alum Rock Union School District.

Surprisingly there is some pushback from the community on tearing down the building. As it would likely cost over $30 million to repair, it would be extremely expensive to integrate it into the housing project.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

New housing proposal near Five Wounds future BART station and urban village

The densification of the Little Portugal neighborhood around Five Wounds Church and our next BART station is beginning. There is a new proposal to replace two residential lots at 1271 and 1279 Julian Street with a 140-unit apartment building sitting on just under an acre. The seven-story building would have two floors reserved for parking and five floors with 1-3 bedroom apartments. 14 of the apartments would be reserved for very low income housing.

The development permit is going to be considered for approval this Wednesday. This would be one of several projects in the Little Portugal neighborhood, which could see up to 2,000 new jobs, 600,000 SQFT of commercial space, and 5,000-7,000 residential units long-term. The neighborhood is likely to look very different in 10 years.

Source: SVBJ

Iconic San Jose tower will be converting offices to homes

Demand for office space is low and housing is high, which will likely lead to several office to housing conversions throughout San Jose. One of the most interesting proposals is by the owners of the historic "Bank of Italy" tower in Downtown San Jose. The building was San Jose's original high rise, and the company that built it eventually became Bank of America. It was actually the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Francisco between 1926 and 1970... 44 years.

The latest proposal is to convert the 13-story office building to between 125 and 150 homes across at least 11 of the floors, in addition to doing significant interior and exterior renovations. The attic below the spire and cupola would also be used to support the residential component (perhaps as amenity space). The plan also references a 1,400 SQFT lower penthouse and 900 SQFT upper penthouse. It's not clear exactly where those would be--if they are part of the tower component above the attic or the terraces along the side.

Dining and retail spaces are also earmarked for the project, including one with a 2nd floor terrace which you can see in the 2nd and last images below. I'm reminded of the old Scott's Seafood location. This could be a really unique spot for a restaurant overlooking Fountain Alley and First Street!

It also looks like they want to add some dynamic lighting elements to the top of the tower, which would be a nice bonus for the project. Hopefully they can get this completed before the market shifts again.

Source: The Mercury News