27-story tower would be tallest building in downtown San Jose
Development would feature 285 residential units and 5,200 square feet of retail
A veteran realty firm has proposed development of nearly 290 residences on a parking lot at the south end of downtown San Jose, a project that would likely bring a new 27-story tower to the city’s urban core.
“This would be the highest building in downtown San Jose, a couple of feet higher than the 88 tower,” said Scott Knies, executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association. The 88 tower is a residential high rise at San Fernando and Second streets.
“We are supportive of the height and the density,” Knies said. “This part of downtown is most suited for the highest buildings in downtown San Jose.”
KT Urban is the developer of the site, according to documents the developer submitted to San Jose city planners.
“This is the latest example of San Jose growing up and not out,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a San Jose-based land-use planning consultancy. “It’s all about the pressure to develop more housing.”
Garden Gate Tower is the proposed name of the development, which is located at 600 S. First St. next to East Reed Street. The project would be perched on a traffic route that leads into the heart of downtown and an emerging entertainment and nightlife district. It would be a dramatic project at one of downtown’s entryways, with its dozens of floors.
“A grand gateway for the downtown, Garden Gate Tower would anchor the southern end of the center city,” Knies said.
The site is right across the street from The Pierce, a 230-unit residential complex.
“600 South First is a unique site, sitting on the boundary between the bustle and the calm, between downtown and single-family neighborhoods,” KT Urban wrote in its development proposal to the city.
The proposal requests approval for 285 residential units and about 5,200 square feet of ground-floor
retail. It would also include four levels of underground parking.
“The demand for housing has caused people to look outside the primary downtown core for places to develop residential,” Staedler said.
The project would also have to accommodate some historic elements, including a Victorian-era apartment building, the old masonry Garden City Construction property, and an art deco sign that says City Center Motel.
“This is a large mixeduse project that will continue the redevelopment of
South Market Street,” said Genevieve Singh, a spokeswoman for the San Jose City Planning Division.
The interest in an array of projects in downtown San Jose — including new offices, homes, restaurants, hotels and entertainment offerings — has intensified following disclosures of major new projects by tech giants Google and Adobe Systems.
San Jose-based Adobe on Jan. 10 paid $68 million for a lot at 333 W. San Fernando St. that would be the site of a new office tower next to Adobe’s headquarters downtown, which currently consists of three high rises.
The fourth tower could accommodate about 3,000 Adobe employees.
Mountain View-based Google is planning a transit-oriented community in downtown San Jose that would feature 6 million to 8 million square feet of offices, enough space for 15,000 to 20,000 Google workers.
“Google and Adobe have gotten people to think differently about the job growth in the Bay Area and in downtown San Jose,” Staedler said.