Huge housing development project, retail in hilly neighborhood OK'd

Plans for more than 1,000 homes and a village center atop San Jose's Communications Hill have landed final approval from city officials.

The homes and village center are included in the most recent phases of the massive Communications Hill neighborhood development. The city's planning director approved the project components as part of an administrative hearing.

“This approval allows KB Homes to move forward with Phase 3 and phase four and all of the infrastructure that is required,” said Jerry Strangis,

principal executive with Strangis Properties, which has provided consulting work for KB on the project.

All told, 1,304 residences were approved on Communications Hill through the hearing, which enables an expedited approval process for certain projects.

The approval Wednesday included three primary components:

• 505 apartment units.

• 799 residential units.

• 32,900 square feet of commercial space.

“The commercial is something that will benefit the community,” Strangis said. “Nice restaurants, coffee shops, health-related uses and healthy foods and drinks. We're also talking about a wine bar.”

Some local residents raised concerns during a public comments session of the hearing about asbestos in the area and what was being done to remediate exposure to the hazardous material.

However, an official with a Communications Hill neighborhood association said his group believes KB Homes is working to ensure asbestos in the vicinity doesn't imperil residents.

The restaurant and retail spaces would be located on the ground floor of the apartment sites, according to Strangis.

“It's kind of a Santana Row design,” Strangis said. “Potentially, this is one of the best sites in the Bay Area for a restaurant.”