SAN JOSE — A blighted site in downtown San Jose poses an immediate danger to the public due to toxic contamination discovered on the property, according to an official city notice posted next to the parcels.
The property is at the corner of North Fourth Street and East St. John Street and over recent years has been the scene of multiple fires, homeless encampments, a shooting assault — and now, toxic contamination.
“The property has been found to be imminently dangerous,” stated the notice that was dated Nov. 26 and posted by San Jose’s code enforcement unit.
City officials have scheduled a hearing for this month to discuss the status of the blighted property and take further action if necessary.
“An accumulation of debris contaminated with lead and asbestos” is present on the property, the Nov. 26 city notice stated.
San Jose has filed a lawsuit against South Bay business executive Brent Lee and two affiliates he heads up – RPRO152N3 LLC and Le Garden House LLC – to remove the torched wood, debris, garbage and other materials on the parcels Lee owns through an affiliate, and then to eliminate the blight on the site.
Three blazes, the fiery destruction of two Victorian-era homes, a shooting, a dog attack, the accumulation of garbage and the discovery of hazardous materials have coalesced to alarm San Jose officials who hope a court-appointed receiver will finally get the property cleaned up.
The receiver is poised to seize full control of the property, which could result in a sale to a new owner once the sites are fully cleaned up. A Santa Clara County judge would have to determine the property’s fate.
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The fire-scorched properties are at 100, 120, 146 and 152 North Fourth St., and 117 North Fifth St. For decades, the 146 and 152 North Fourth buildings were Victorian-era homes until they burned down this year.
Court papers show that problems and concerns spawned by the properties began to surface more than a half-decade ago. Neighbors began to raise warning flags in early 2018 about the sites, according to an amended lawsuit on file with Santa Clara County Superior Court.
“In February 2018, the city’s Code Enforcement Division began investigating the 146 North Fourth property for blight as well as health and safety violations,” court papers state. “At the time of the initial inspection, the 146 North Fourth site was vacant with piles of solid waste and debris on the driveway and around the property.”
In 2021 and 2022, city inspectors found that individuals were using the two Victorian homes at 146 and 152 North Fourth as temporary shelters on multiple occasions. The city boarded up the residences, hoping to prevent entry.
The Lee-controlled affiliate had collected the parcels to accommodate a proposed 23-story housing tower with 298 units and ground-floor retail. The city approved that project, but construction never began.
Three fires have since broken out at the abandoned site, destroying the old Victorians in the process.
The final removal of the debris and hazardous materials is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, according to San Jose City Attorney Nora Frimann.
“The property is hereby declared a public nuisance,” the city Code Enforcement unit stated in the public notice posted at the site of blight.