SAN JOSE — The conclusion of a court case is poised to propel a quest by a powerful transit agency to grab a prime property needed for a proposed BART station in downtown San Jose.
Transit officials went to court, a case that included a jury trial, to seize ownership of a building on a key downtown San Jose parcel with addresses ranging from 41 through 55 West Santa Clara Street.
The parcel is needed to run BART through the city’s downtown district, according to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which states the parcel is essential to the development of a future BART station.
In September 2024, a jury reached a verdict that the property was valued at $10.3 million in a case that pitted the VTA against an affiliate of legendary San Jose-based real estate firm Green Valley Corp..
A Green Valley appraiser estimated the property was worth about $17.4 million. A VTA appraiser estimated the site was worth $8.9 million, court papers show.
After the jury rendered its verdict and a Santa Clara County judge formally confirmed the panel’s decision, Green Valley sought a new trial in the case.
In January 2025, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Socrates Manoukian denied Green Valley’s request for a new trial.
One of the next major steps is expected to involve the VTA’s formal purchase of the property, thereby ending the eminent domain proceeding to condemn and seize the site.
In addition to the core $10.3 million price for the property, Green Valley also was awarded an additional $53,000 for improvements that had been made on the property, court records show.
A Chase Bank branch and, by happenstance, a VTA office both once operated at the site. The property became completely vacant a few years ago.
In 2018, an affiliate of real estate investment firm Lift Partners paid a local family $3.75 million for the site. In 2020, Green Valley paid $4.1 million for the site.
The East Santa Clara Street building that was the bone of contention in the court case is where the entrance of the Downtown San Jose BART station is expected to be located.
The BART project, however, has been haunted by a series of delays and cost overruns that have steadily ratcheted up the estimated price for the BART extension into downtown San Jose.
VTA officials say BART service into downtown San Jose that also reaches the Diridon train station on the western edges of the city’s urban core would spur transit efforts and fuel economic activity in the South Bay and the Bay Area generally.
“Completion of the project will finally ‘ring the Bay’ with frequent rail service,” the VTA said in a web post.