SAN JOSE — An investment group bought a chunk of land near east San Jose that could provide part of the property needed for a housing project with several hundred units.

A business entity with an address in Fullerton bought 355.7 acres of land in the eastern foothills of San Jose, according to documents filed on July 15 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

A 355.7-acre site in the eastern foothills of San Jose near Quimby Road and Mt. Hamilton Road in the vicinity of Joseph D. Grant County Park, shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Santa Clara County SSC Map, Google Maps)

The group, represented by attorney Benjamin Eilenberg, paid $5.5 million for the land, which is within a mile of the corner of Quimby Road and Mount Hamilton Road, county documents and a government database show.

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Eilenberg is named as an official for numerous LLCs with the same Fullerton address listed as one of his locations. Individuals or companies sometimes use an LLC and a designated agent to help maintain their privacy and mask their control.

The recent transaction might be just one component of the activity that has begun to emerge in connection with the just-bought property and two adjacent sites, Santa Clara County Planning Department files show.

Matthew Ginsberg and Pamela Kinion, who are listed as people who reside in a nearby neighborhood in the same area of the San Jose foothills, have floated a proposal for a residential and commercial development.

The plans are being proposed on 517.3 acres that include 320.8 acres of the property that the Eilenberg-represented group purchased this month.

The project would feature 500 residential units. Of these, 400 would be single-family homes and 100 would be accessory dwelling units, county planning files show.

In addition to the potential of hundreds of residences, the developer is eyeing several other improvements on the 517 acres, county planning files show.

Among the non-residential proposals, according to the planning documents:

— Two riding arenas, each totaling 20,000 square feet.

— An event center totaling 18,200 square feet.

— Two stable areas totaling 12,500 square feet.

— An office area of 2,900 square feet.

— A complex consisting of a community center, restaurant and convenience store. These features would total about 13,000 square feet.

Ginsberg and Kinion aim to use provisions of Senate Bill 330 to enable them to steer the proposal through the county review process in a streamlined fashion.

The development proposal also advances the concept of beneficial links between the development site and the nearby Joseph D. Grant County Park, a 10,900-acre regional park and recreation area.

“There will be meandering horse trails through the community that will connect to Joseph D. Grant County Park,” county planning files show.