SAN JOSE — dd’s Discounts has signed a lease to take space at a long-empty site in a busy San Jose retail and restaurant center that is landing a growing number of merchants under new owners.

The discount retailer of clothing, shoes, home decor, fashion items and toys has signed a lease at The Plant shopping center, according to documents filed on Feb. 27 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

dd’s Discounts leased 18,000 square feet in a space next to an existing Target store and adjacent to the site of a future Vallarta Supermarkets that had previously rented 65,000 square feet.

Vallarta Supermarkets is taking over a space that was once occupied by Toys ‘R Us and Babies ‘R Us. In 2018, Toys ‘R Us shut all of its U.S. locations following a bankruptcy filing.

dd’s Discounts is a unit of Ross Stores, which already operates a Ross Dress for Less store in The Plant. The Ross store will remain open.

Construction work was underway this week inside the future dd’s Discount site at the Plant.

The lease by dd’s Discounts extends a winning stream for the principal owners of The Plant, Arc Capital Partners and Milan Capital Management.

In August 2024, Arc Capital and Milan Capital, acting through an affiliate, paid $95 million for most of The Plant. Target owns its store site, which wasn’t involved in last year’s transaction.

“We are definitely seeing a lot of leasing momentum,” said Chris Nichelson, a Milan Capital Management executive.

Located at 1 Curtner Ave., The Plant totals 650,500 square feet, according to real estate brochures.

“We are already 93% pre-leased and 70% occupied,” NIchelson said.

Leases are pending for another 12,600 square feet in four smaller spaces in The Plant, the county property documents show.

“We are very excited to get this dd’s Discounts lease,” NIchelson said. “We are very energized with the activity we are getting. This shows that The Plant is a great location for retailers.”