Historic San Jose building in need of major repairs

The San Jose Chamber of Commerce building is in need of some urgent upgrades, and the organization has launched a foundation to raise the funds.

Built in 1942, the historic building that fronts the corner of West Santa Clara and Market streets is in need of a new cooling and heating system, water pipes and a front door to maintain safety and security. For the first round of upgrades, the chamber aims to raise $500,000 through its Bob Kieve Chamber Building Preservation Foundation.

“It’s an absolutely beautiful building, and as usually happens, maintenance is really hard to keep up, especially as a nonprofit organization,” Chamber CEO and President Leah Toeniskoetter told San José Spotlight.

When Toeniskoetter took the helm at the beginning of this year, she did an assessment of the building and found the needed upgrades to be substantial. She wants to start repairs as soon as possible. Top of the list is to replace the front door, as it’s not secure enough and has led to multiple break-ins.

After the organization deals with the urgent repairs, Toeniskoetter plans to have a second phase of renovations. This will include upgrading the community room’s sound system, lighting, carpeting and chairs. She said the sound reverberation is so bad in the 80-person meeting room that hybrid/remote meetings can’t be held.

“That’s a room community groups use, and we just want to make sure that it’s actually usable for all needs,” Toeniskoetter said.

In addition to setting up a preservation foundation under Kieve’s name, the chamber is also planning to name its building after him. Kieve was a legendary San Jose radioman actively involved in the community who served as the chamber’s board chair in 1993. After the chamber acquired the building in the mid 2000s, he contributed a generous donation that allowed the organization to stay in the building at a time when the nonprofit was having a hard time keeping up with maintenance. Kieve died in 2020 at age 98.

“Bob Kieve was an extraordinary leader,” Toeniskoetter told San José Spotlight. “The building and the chamber being in the middle of downtown, the heart of the city, was something that he cared very much about. So because he enabled the chamber to stay, that’s why we named it after him.”
The San Jose Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1886, is one of the oldest chambers in the country. The organization’s mission is to strengthen businesses, advocate for policies that support its growth and create resources and networking opportunities for business leaders.

Dennis King, who sits on the San Jose Chamber board and serves as executive director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley, said historic buildings require heavy maintenance.

“Organizations that are dedicated to preserving essentially historic buildings recognize that acquiring is only the first phase and having people contribute along the way certainly helps really save the day,” King told San José Spotlight.

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.