Triple tower would bring homes, theater
Downtown San Jose Invicta project is planned as an arts, dining destination
SAN JOSE >> Three residential towers, a theater, and retail and dining space could rise in downtown San Jose’s emerging SoFA district on a site touted as part of a future gateway to the city’s urban heart, according to plans filed Wednesday with government officials.
The Invicta project is the latest in a growing number of significant developments proposed for downtown San Jose, since Google’s property purchases on the western edge of downtown for a massive proposed village helped to spur interest in all sorts of new property ventures. The city unveiled the broad strokes of Google’s plan in June 2017, and a flurry of real estate deals and development plans for the downtown soon followed. Plus, downtown’s current biggest tech titan, Adobe Systems, plans to dramatically expand its downtown San Jose headquarters campus with a new office tower.
“The goal of the project is to be a destination hub for arts and dining that will enliven the streets of the SoFA District with more people,” said Erik Schoennauer, principal executive and partner with Schoen-
nauer Company, a land-use and planning consultancy that is advising the project’s developers.
Invicta Towers is the name of the development, which is proposed for part of a block near the corner of East William and South Second streets. The property also has some frontage on South First Street.
“It’s great to see something like this move forward; it’s turned into a really awesome plan,” said Arnie Kamrin, a partner in the development venture who owns some of the properties where the project will be built. “The idea is to help support and sustain the arts and entertainment district in this area, including the City Lights Theater.”
Kamrin has been working with contractor and developer Greg Bock as well as broker Jim McArthur of Intero Commercial to assemble the sites for the future Invicta Towers.
The development would consist of more than 1 million square feet of space. It would include 667 residential units in three towers, a new live-performance art theater, and public arts spaces, along with the retail and dining. The existing City Lights Theater would be part of the project, which is being developed by Knowhere Holdings, whose principal executives and partners are Bryan Robertson and Mircea Voskerician.
“We want to bring a new theater and fun, engaging dining experiences to make this block a hot destination for downtown San Jose,” Robertson said.
The development would also be around the corner from existing
arts venues, including the San Jose Stage Company, MACLA, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art and the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles.
“We are excited about the opportunity for City Lights to have a new home as part of this project, which has the potential to be transformative for San Jose’s SoFA District,” said Lisa Mallette, executive artistic director of City Lights Theater.
Mallette said the theater would work with Kamrin, the company’s landlord, to pave the way for the City Lights enterprise to remain part of the new development.
“We look forward to the road ahead in terms of raising the capital required to realize our new home,” Mallette said.
SoFA — which stands for South First Area, although some also dub it South First Arts District — is a fast-evolving section of downtown San Jose. An eclectic array of entertainment, nightlife, dining, arts and creative venues, anchored by hotels
and new residential developments, have coalesced to form a lively neighborhood along First and Second streets.
“This area is really starting to happen and come together, which is what you see with projects like this,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial, a realty firm. “SoFA is a happening place. It is going to be the main theater and arts district of San Jose.”
A growing number of developers are seeking creative ways to build infill projects that are tucked away among existing sites and add dense developments to the downtown, said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a property consultancy.
“It’s exciting to see a density of people and entertainment options all together,” Staedler said of the Invicta Towers project. “It’s just a matter of getting a project put together that can be financed and built.”