New plan for transit-oriented homes in San Jose

Project would consist of up to 269 residential units on downtown’s West San Carlos Street

SAN JOSE >> Hundreds of new homes are being eyed near downtown San Jose and a short distance from the footprint of a proposed Google transit village in a revamped plan that is under consideration at City Hall.

The Ohlone, a big residential development, is being planned at the corner of West San Carlos Street and Sunol in San Jose, about three blocks from the Downtown West neighborhood that Google has proposed.

The project would consist of up to 269 residential units and would be 12 stories high, according to a revised proposal that developers Republic Urban Properties

and Swenson have filed with San Jose city planners.

A previous version of the proposal had envisioned a taller 14-story building for the project, which would be built at 860 W. San Carlos St. by Green Republic, a joint venture consisting of Republic Urban and Swenson.

“With 12 stories, we will still get the same number of units as the prior proposal,” said Michael Van Every, president and managing partner with Republic Urban Properties in San Jose. “It’s really just a refresh of the original design. We want to make a more efficient parking structure and minimize costs.”

The developers intend to reconfigure the residential units so they will be larger. Republic Urban believes that a larger unit size is more appealing to home seekers in today’s market.

“As millennials get older, they require more space,” Van Every said. “The units will be a little bit bigger. We will have fewer studios and more one-bedroom units, and more units with dens.”

Studio apartments have suffered the largest decline in rental rates in the region, a roughly 17% drop, Van Every estimated.

Apartment developments with larger units are more likely to land financing from lenders.

“Projects with smaller units are becoming more difficult to build because of the construction financing and the costs,” Van Every said. “Our building strategy has changed over the years to build larger units.”

One of the potential major draws for The Ohlone residences is expected to be their proximity to Google’s Downtown West project as well as the Diridon train station.

Google’s transit-oriented neighborhood would consist of office buildings, homes, shops, restaurants, hotel facilities, cultural hubs, entertainment centers, and open spaces near the Diridon transit hub and SAP Center. Google expects to employ up to 20,000 within the development.

“The area is slated to become the Bay Area’s major transit hub,” Republic Urban Properties stated in a post about The Ohlone development on its website.

Light rail, Caltrain, Amtrak, the Capitol Corridor line, ACE Train, and buses already serve the Diridon Station. A BART stop is approved for the transit complex. A high-speed rail line is also in the works for the train hub.

Republic Urban and Swenson

have already developed two other residential complexes in the same neighborhood. These projects are known as Patina and Silver.

Ohlone would be the third and final of those residential projects.

Swenson and Republic Urban will also include 12,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor for The Ohlone. The prior version had called for underground parking.

In the revamped version of the project, the parking will be at street level, which works better for retailers.

The new proposal will likely require a final decision from the city’s Planning Commission.

“We really want to get this project going next year if we can,” Van Every said.