SAN JOSE — A housing project that could produce hundreds of units — and scrap prior plans for a big office complex on the site — is being eyed at a prime San Jose property near the city’s two big shopping hubs.
The development site is at 3896 Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose, a property that is about two miles west of the Westfield Valley Fair and Santana Row commercial hubs.
Multifamily residential complex at 3896 Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose, consisting of two apartment buildings and ground-floor retail and fitness spaces, view from the southeast, concept. (TCA Architects)
Holland Partner Group, which has wide-ranging expertise in the residential development market, has proposed 524 multifamily housing units, according to preliminary plans on file at San Jose City Hall.
This proposal means that a developer has scuttled a previous proposal for a massive office, retail and fitness complex on the property, which is at the busy intersection of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Saratoga Avenue.
“The site…was previously entitled for an 882,000-square-foot office and retail redevelopment which, due to changes in market conditions, was unable to move forward,” Holland Partners stated in its project plans.
Cypress Equities, which owns the property, had also envisioned that its original proposal would have included a 120,000-square-foot Life Time Athletic Resort.
The current proposal from Holland Partner Group would accommodate two small fitness centers on the ground floor of each residential building. The site plan for the new proposal doesn’t show a big fitness complex.
During this past summer, Cypress Equities struck a deal to sell its interest in the 3896 Stevens Creek property to a unit of Texas-based Holland Partner Group, Santa Clara County real estate records show.
Holland and Cypress have crafted a contract whereby Holland Partner would purchase a ground lease to own the 4.7-acre site, according to public documents.
The new project would feature two eight-story residential buildings as well as open spaces between the buildings, along with a fitness center and spaces in both buildings. One of the buildings would also contain a co-working space, a site plan shows.
“The project will be eligible for State Density Bonus incentives by offering 5% of units at rents affordable to households at very-low-income levels,” Holland Partner Group development manager Alden Smith wrote in a letter to the San Jose Planning Department.
Very low income is defined as a household making 30% to 50% of the area median income. The Santa Clara County area median income is $184,300 for a household of four people. The 30% to 50% range would equate to $55,290 to $92,150 for a four-person household.
The development site is within an area that is influenced by a special urban village vision crafted by San Jose city officials.
‘Holland and the design team believe the proposal meets the intent of the Stevens Creek Urban Village Plan by significantly enhancing the pedestrian experience along the Stevens Creek and Saratoga frontages and creating new public gathering spaces that will give residents and visitors reasons to linger,” Holland stated in an overview letter regarding the project.