Housing project set to sprout in downtown San Jose
Complex with 130 units and a restaurant is planned near convention center
“The Firestone could be the beginning of a new model for residential development in San Jose.”
— Dennis Randall, partner with Acquity Realty
SAN JOSE >> A mixed-use housing and retail complex that will bring downtown San Jose more than 100 new residences and an enticing restaurant concept is set to begin construction within weeks near the city’s convention center.
The Firestone project, near South Market and Balbach streets in the city’s South First Area, or SoFA district, would become the newest large development in downtown San Jose.
“We are using an urban approach for this project,” said Dennis Randall, a partner with Acquity Realty, a development and real estate investment firm, who added that the project will break ground in August. “The ground floor will have a very cool restaurant and bar.”
The Firestone, at 477 S. Market St., will have 130 residential units, according to Acquity.
Acquity paved the way to receive the financing to build the project through a pair of transactions completed July 19.
Through an affiliate called CG AQ 477 South Market Street, Acquity brought an investment partner onboard to take a stake in the property. The site was bought for $6.8 million, according to Santa Clara County records.
On the same day, the Acquity group obtained a construction loan of $41.5 million, the county documents show. The records also indicated that Cigna Investment Management is involved in the project.
“The Firestone could be the beginning of a new model for residential development in San Jose,” Randall said.
The project will offer fewer parking spaces than the number of residential units. Randall estimated the development would have about 94 to 95 parking spaces.
Limiting parking is one way for developers to combat rising construction costs that have bedeviled build
ers in the Bay Area in recent years.
Plus, residents in The Firestone will be able to relax and gather on the rooftop of the five-story project, which will be reached by elevator, with rooftop gardens and a barbecue, according to John Pringle, a partner with Acquity.
“People will have an outstanding view of downtown San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley from the roof,” Randall said.
The new complex is in the up-and-coming SoFA district, an emerging hotbed of nightlife replete with restaurants, nightclubs, theaters and drinking establishments.