SAN JOSE — A real estate firm has scuttled a proposal to build a big office building at a prime San Jose site and has now pivoted to a new plan for housing on the parcel even as the company seeks to sell the property.
The flurry of development and sales activity, along with the shift to housing, is a reminder of the feeble state of the Bay Area office market and how builders seek residential projects to cure their economic maladies.
335 South Winchester Boulevard in west San Jose, a restaurant site, shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)
The potential development site is at 335 South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose across the street from the Santana Row mixed-use neighborhood and around the corner from the Westfield Valley Fair mega mall.
An affiliate headed up by San Mateo-based HPL Development owns the 0.7-acre property, which was valued at $7.8 million as of January 2023, according to the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office.
The property is now for sale, states a marketing brochure circulated by Alliance Bay Realty brokers Wendy Leung and Joe Bega.
Initially, an office building was proposed for the site but housing is now the latest plan for the property.
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“The city approved an office building for the site, but the entitlement expired,” Bega said in an interview with this news organization. The entitlement expired in early January.
The new housing proposal envisions a residential building with about 75 apartments and ground-floor commercial spaces, according to Bega.
The housing entitlement process has just begun with a preliminary proposal to San Jose city planners.
Separately, HPL Development is attempting to sell the property, which for decades was the site of Khanh’s restaurant.
The initial asking price was $25 million. HPL has since cut the price to $20 million, according to the marketing brochure.
One major selling point for the property is its proximity to Santana Row and Valley Fair.
“Santana Row is Silicon Valley’s premier destination for shopping, dining, living, working and playing,” the Alliance Bay Realty brochure states.