SAN JOSE — The municipal government could seize ownership of an abandoned historic church property in San Jose that has become an eyesore after years of neglect, under a proposal by the city’s mayor.

The property is the First Church of Christ, Scientist building in downtown San Jose at 43 East St. James Street, that has become one of the city’s most blighted properties.

a historic church site

First Church of Christ Scientist, a historic empty building at 43 East St. James Street in downtown San Jose, February 2024. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)

“We have asked for action, maxed out our fines and two years later, center,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in comments texted to this news organization.

we still have a blighted eyesore in our city

China-based Z&L Properties, acting through an affiliate, is the real estate firm that owns the property. Z&L had promised to restore and preserve the old church and develop two housing towers next to it.

Workers remove debris and scaffolding from the historic First Church of Christ, Scientist at 43 East St. James Street in downtown San Jose, August 2023. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Instead of high-rise housing and vibrant adaptive reuse of the historic building, the church is boarded up and derelict, while the residential towers have never been built.