SAN JOSE — The downtown San Jose site where a housing tower was once proposed but never built has been seized through a foreclosure that shows pockets of economic weakness still dot the Bay Area property market.
The property is at 27 S. First St. in San Jose, an empty building that has been taken back through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which is a procedure for a lender to take ownership of a property in a streamlined fashion.
Elevated view of Tower 27, a mixed-use 24-story residential tower with 374 units and 35,300 square feet at 27 S. First St. in downtown San Jose, concept. (Merriman Anderson Architects)
A tattered sign for a proposed housing tower is seen in a window of a building at 27 South First Street in downtown San Jose on Oct. 27, 2025. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose officials have approved a proposal to develop a 24-story, 374-unit housing tower on the parcel, which is a building that has frontages on South First Street and Lightston Alley between West Santa Clara Street and West San Fernando Street.
The project never broke ground, even though the housing tower’s developer, a group led by Alterra Worldwide and real estate executives Tony Bader and Mike Sarimsakci, pursued both conventional financing plans and more exotic funding vehicles to attract money to build the homes.
Entry area of a commercial building at 27 South First Street in downtown San Jose, seen on Oct. 27, 2025. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
Street-level view of Tower 27, a 24-story mixed-use residential tower with 374 units and 35,300 square feet at 27 S. First St. in downtown San Jose, concept. (Merriman Anderson Architects)
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In 2021, the project’s owners attempted to coax investors to raise $100 million to finance the tower by using a security token offering, a digital system that would have enabled investors to buy small chunks of ownership in the development.
Nothing came of the funding efforts, however, and the building remains empty.
“27 South 1st St. is one of the most challenging development sites in downtown San Jose,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy. “The narrowest part of the parcel is only about 78 feet wide, with properties tightly surrounding it on both sides.”
The building was once occupied by an F.W. Woolworth Co. department store. More recently, Ross Dress for Less operated one of its discount apparel stores at the property. In 2016, Ross closed its doors at the 27 S. First St. site.
After Ross exited the building, the property became a pop-up enclave for local artists operating through the Local Color organization.
San Mateo-based TDA Investment Group, acting through an affiliate, is now the owner of the building. The unpaid debt at the time of the foreclosure was $13.9 million, according to documents filed on Oct. 27 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
In 2020, Copia Lending provided the loan that ultimately became delinquent and led to the streamlined foreclosure. Copia operates out of the same office as TDA Investment Group and has some of the same executives.
It wasn’t immediately clear what plans the new owner might have for the empty building. Any ground-up development of the site might require a collection of some adjacent parcels to accommodate a project.
“The most practical short-term option is probably to lease the property and wait for a larger site to come together for a more feasible project,” Staedler said.
