SAN JOSE — A high-profile San Jose development that originally was floated as adjacent housing and office towers has now evolved into a midrise project that would produce well over 600 homes — and no offices — new plans on file at City Hall show.
Urban Catalyst, a real estate firm that is active in downtown San Jose, has proposed two buildings, each of them eight stories, that would sprout in downtown San Jose, plans that would replace towers with shorter buildings.
Icon, an eight-story housing development with about 300 residential units, located near the corner of North Fourth Street and East Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose, concept. (BDE Architecture)
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“Wood-frame housing makes the most economic sense, and eight stories is the highest you can build with wood frame,” said Joshua Burroughs, chief operating officer and partner with Urban Catalyst, the developer and the principal owner of the development site. “It’s very expensive to build concrete and steel frame high-rise housing.”
Together, the two residential buildings would produce 626 apartments, according to the project files. Each of the buildings would contain approximately 300 units.
One of the residential buildings is slated to be developed at 147 E. Santa Clara St. at the corner of North Fourth Street, currently the site of a Chevron gas station.
The other apartment building is planned down the same block, at 95 N. Fourth St. at the corner of East St. John Street, now occupied by an empty commercial property.
Initially, the proposal envisioned a 20-story office tower at Fourth and Santa Clara. The office building, called Icon, would have totaled 525,000 square feet.
The early versions of the project also contemplated a 26-story housing high-rise with 389 residences. The residences, dubbed Echo, would have sprouted at the Fourth and St. John site near St. James Park.
The latest proposal is being floated using the provisions of SB 330, California legislation that creates a streamlined process for the review and approval of housing projects.
The two-building project is expected to be developed in phases, according to Burroughs. The first phase will be built at East St. John and North Fourth. The second phase would rise at the corner of East Santa Clara and North Fourth.
This sequence also makes it more likely that the existing gas station will be able to continue operating for several more years.
“We will have a little bit of commercial and retail on the East Santa Clara Street frontage,” Burroughs said.
All told, the two residential buildings will require about $300 million in overall development and financing investments. Each building will have a development cost ranging from $130 million to $150 million, Burroughs estimated.
“Building a project that is easier to finance is always more beneficial,” Burroughs said. “Because of the housing crisis, a project that is more feasible and can be built relatively quickly is another net benefit.”
