The Mercury News Weekend

Arson-gutted sex shop may yield to housing tower in downtown San Jose

- By George Avalos gavalos@bayareanew­sgroup.com

SAN JOSE » A building containing a sex shop that a fatal arson fire had gutted could be bulldozed and replaced with a residentia­l tower in downtown San Jose.

The fire in September captured plenty of attention: Investigat­ors determined the blaze at the Craze 4 Toys Adult Superstore, a longtime fixture at 17 E. Santa Clara St. in San Jose, was set by store owner Pirtpal Singh, 33, who had been evicted from the building and died in the conflagrat­ion.

Now, the property owner, Cupertino resident Eunice Kim, has proposed the developmen­t of a residentia­l tower that would replace the two-story building near the corner of East Santa Clara Street and North First Street, according to documents on file with San Jose city planners.

The proposal that’s been submitted to the city planning department is described in the documents as “very preliminar­y” and there are no assurances that the project would be built as now envisioned.

However, the current plans propose the constructi­on of a 21-story residentia­l tower with ground-floor retail, after the existing twostory commercial building is bulldozed.

Much of that stretch of East Santa Clara Street, particular­ly on the north side of the thoroughfa­re between First and Second streets, is dominated by empty retail sites and

boarded up windows.

“Activating and renovating that corridor in downtown San Jose is critical,” said Gary Dillabough, principal executive with Urban Community, an increasing­ly busy developer in downtown San Jose.

Dillabough heads up partnershi­ps that own several properties in the vicinity on the south side of Santa Clara Street, including the iconic Bank of Italy office tower. Dillabough has launched a wide-ranging facelift of the historic Bank of Italy tower, and he and others have advocated for an improved Santa Clara Street.

The interest in upgrades, investment­s, and redevelopm­ent along Santa Clara Street has intensifie­d amid plans by BART to add two train stations in downtown San Jose, one at First and Santa Clara Streets and another at the Diridon transit hub on the western edges of downtown.

“This whole corridor needs a refresh and we need to be encouragin­g as much density as possible to leverage the multibilli­on- dollar BART project that is being delivered to our doorstep,” said Joshua Burroughs, a partner with Urban Catalyst, which has invested in several downtown San Jose projects where the company has proposed major redevelopm­ent efforts.

The preliminar­y plans for the residentia­l tower propose 97 housing units, including 95 one- bedroom units and a pair of two-bedroom units.

The new housing tower also might contain 1,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, the proposal stated.

These kinds of upgrades are badly needed, according to Dillabough.

“San Jose is becoming a world- class city, and that adult store really didn’t help to deliver that kind of vision,” Dillabough said.

 ?? GEORGE AVALOS — STAFF ?? A burned-out retail location on East Santa Clara Street in San Jose is being eyed for housing.
GEORGE AVALOS — STAFF A burned-out retail location on East Santa Clara Street in San Jose is being eyed for housing.

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