CENTURY-OLD THEATER ON THE AUCTION BLOCK
Minimum $1.53 million bid required to buy downtown’s Jose Theatre
SAN JOSE >> Downtown San Jose’s historic Jose Theatre, home of a local comedy club, is up for sale.
Built in 1904, the building is San Jose’s oldest theater. Today, it is home to the San Jose Improv. Comedy Club of San Jose has a lease for the site that expires at the end of 2020, according to a brochure circulated by the Successor Agency to the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.
The proposed sale of the century-old Jose Theatre would require a minimum bid of $1.53 million, according to the brochure.
The Jose Theatre was built by David Jack, a Monterey property owner whose name and hometown became the basis of the Monterey Jack cheese brand, according to the sanjose.com/ underbelly/ website. The theater has changed hands at least seven times.
“We’re hoping the buyer is a property owner who wants to put in great uses that will contribute to the amenitiesrich areas that we are encouraging in downtown San Jose,” said Nanci Klein, the city’s deputy director of economic development.
Over the decades, the theater hosted vaudeville acts, and legendary magician Harry Houdini once per- formed there. It’s shown silent films and second-run films. For some decades starting in 1949, it operated as the James Lima General Theatrical Company, the Soft Underbelly of San Jose website states. In 1989, the owners at the time, realty entrepreneurs Barry Swenson and Jim Fox, were forced to close the theater after it was damaged in the deadly Loma Prieta earthquake.
The 450-seat Jose Theatre has two stories. The first floor contains the performance stage and seating, and the second level accommodates a viewing balcony, offices, and a food and beverage area.
Facing a wrecking ball, the Jose Theatre was named a San Jose Historical Landmark in 1990. The city spent $5.1 million on seismic repairs, renovation and restoration.
Now, the successor to the defunct city Redevelopment Agency is attempting to find a buyer for the property.
Located at 62 S. Second St., the building is located in a National Register Historic District, is a San Jose city landmark and is listed in the California Register of Historic Resources.
The base monthly rent is $6,300, plus a percentage rent of the gross sales generated by Comedy Club of San Jose.
In addition to the base annual rent, the Successor
Agency received roughly $65,000 in 2016 and $83,000 in 2017 from the sales-receipts percentage, the brochure stated.
If the theater is sold, Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use and planning consultancy, hopes the new owner will continue the recent years of lively entertainment and nightlife at the site.
“The Jose Theatre has helped create vibrant activities in this part of downtown San Jose,” Staedler said.
Bids are due in late October. The city of San Jose is eligible to bid for the property, since the municipality technically doesn’t own the site at present.
“If the entertainment uses go away at the Jose Theatre, that would create a dead stretch in the downtown,” Staedler said.