San Jose is on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars after being sued over a planned concert venue at its historic but blighted St. James Park. Yet the plans are undeterred – and poised to start this year.
The San Jose City Council on Aug. 27 is slated to approve a $400,000 settlement to a group representing the historic Sainte Claire Club building next to the downtown park. The Saint Claire Historic Preservation Foundation, which represents the second oldest men’s club in California, sued the city in 2020 after it opposed putting a concert venue known as Levitt Pavilion San Jose near historic landmarks. The payout will cover attorney fees, and while a state appellate court ruling found San Jose ignored its own historic preservation rules when officials approved the project’s permit, everything else about the park revamp is moving forward.
A three-party operating agreement for the concert venue could go before councilmembers by the end of this year, according to Fil Maresca, board chair of Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose which supports the project. The agreement was originally supposed to be signed in 2022, until the lawsuit delayed the timeline.
“It’s not going to change the design, it’s not going to change the layout,” Maresca told San José Spotlight. “The design has always respected the monuments and historic nature of the park and restores the historic nature of the park. The whole park will be bordered by a historic walk.”
Levitt Foundation, a national nonprofit that has transformed 26 struggling parks across the U.S. by building outdoor live music pavilions, partnered with San Jose in 2016 to revitalize the park, and Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose was subsequently formed.
The reimagined park will include a music pavilion, picnic grove, garden and monument walks, a fountain, dog park and playground. The fountain will be a recreation of the original Victorian spitting fish design from the 1880s. The playground, which will be ADA accessible and designed for ages 2-12, includes a log-climbing structure, rope swing, forest hut, tree house and fallen tree tunnel.
Concertgoers will be able to enjoy picnics on a lawn sized to accommodate 5,000 people. In addition to 50 free, family-friendly concerts provided by Levitt Foundation, the pavilion can be rented by performing arts and community groups.
Representatives of the men’s club said the group supports a transformation that respects the history of the 7.5-acre park designed in the 1800s, which has since become blighted and neglected.
“The settlement is solely related to the attorneys fees the city owes because the foundation won its preservation lawsuit regarding St. James Park via a court of appeal ruling earlier this year,” the club’s attorney, Susan Brandt Hawley, told San José Spotlight. “The foundation has not seen any revised plans, but is open to working with the city in the future.”
City officials said they’re making progress on the blueprint.
The city’s own analysis prior to the court’s decision said the project could have altered or removed some historical character-defining features, such as existing walking paths, statues and monuments — which would have affected its historic designation. The lawsuit argued city leaders should have denied the project under its historic preservation policy. San Jose disagreed and a lower court took the city’s side, prompting the men’s club to appeal.
While the court ultimately sided with the men’s club on the historic impacts, it did not agree the city violated the California Environmental Quality Act in its analysis of the project — meaning the city won’t have to re-endure the often costly and strenuous review process.
Maresca’s organization is already hosting various events without a shovel hitting the dirt. Free concerts have already drawn residents from their homes between St. James Street and Japantown, dispelling the perception that the park is unsafe. For more than a decade, some locals have envisioned turning the park into an iconic downtown destination.
Designers are working on the project, which is estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars. But detailed plans and costs have yet to be fleshed out. The city and Friends of Levitt group still have to raise funds to make the project a reality.
“We’re all set to move forward with fundraising as soon as the contract is signed,” Maresca said. “We will start knocking on doors in probably January.”
Maresca’s group will fundraise for the Pavilion portion of the park revamp, while the city will handle funding for the rest of the park.
“The lawsuit has delayed the project – there’s no denying that,” Maresca said. “I’m just glad we came to terms and had some finality to this.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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