Texas investors buy west San Jose’s Stevens Creek Central
Retail center near Interstate 280 is anchored by Safeway
SAN JOSE » A big retail center on the west side of San Jose has been bought by a Texas real estate firm that also has embarked on a wide- ranging redevelopment of Cambrian Park Plaza in southwest San Jose.
Stevens Creek Central, a Safeway-anchored shopping center near Interstate 280 and Lawrence Expressway, has been bought by Weingarten Realty Investors, an owner and developer of shopping centers.
“The property is anchored by Safeway, Marshalls, and Total Wine &
More,” Weingarten Realty stated in a post on its web site. Cost Plus World Market opened a store at the center this year.
The center, which is bounded by I-280, Lawrence Expressway, Stevens Creek Boulevard, and Loma Linda Drive, totals roughly 206,000 square feet.
Houston-based Weingarten Realty paid $95.7 million for Stevens Creek Central, according to Santa Clara County property documents that were filed on Nov. 7. The seller was an affiliate of Boston-based AEW Capital Management.
“Stevens Creek Central is an ideal location for both regional and community retailers, with excellent access and visibility,” according to a brochure about the shopping center that was prepared by CBRE, a commercial real estate firm.
The smaller tenants in the center include AT& T, Pet Food Express, Starbucks, Panda Express, El Polo Loco, and McDonald’s.
Weingarten Real Estate touted the favorable demographics of the Stevens Creek Central shopping center.
“The population in a three- mile radius is 260,000 with average household incomes in excess of $141,000,” Weingarten said in its analysis of Stevens Creek Central.
The seller in the deal was represented by Vice Chairman Nicholas Bicardo and Managing Director Brandon Rogoff, agents with Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate firm.
“The shopping center is very centrally positioned in the West Valley, people drive by it all the time,” said James Chung, a broker who specializes in retail properties for Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm. “Geographically, it’s hard to beat.”
The anchors are also a major plus for Stevens Creek Central, in Chung’s view.
“Grocery anchors are traditionally great,” Chung said. “It has the fundamentals to be a great shopping center. It has a regional pull because of its freeway accessibility. It has a much larger radius of customers because of that highway visibility.”
Weingarten Realty also is attempting to redevelop the venerable Cambrian Park Plaza, a San Jose shopping center notable for an old carousel at the complex, which is near the corner of Camden Avenue and Union Avenue, a short distance from State Route 85.
The redevelopment of Cambrian Park Plaza would replace the center with a mixed-use village featuring hotels, retail, an entertainment center, residences, a convalescent hospital, a town square, and public parks.