With an exodus of teachers fleeing pricey Silicon Valley, the city’s largest university is weighing how to create affordable housing for educators on district-owned land. San Jose State University envisions partnering with public school districts across Santa Clara County to combat the housing crisis and the soaring cost of living dilemma that has driven teachers...
Santa Clara County reports alarming property value trend
Santa Clara County may be about to experience one of its worst declines in property value in 15 years. New data from the Santa Clara County assessor’s office shows a significant number of properties declining in value from 2,595 last year to 19,325 this year. Aside from a brief uptick in 2020 during the first...
San Jose greenlights hotel conversion for student housing
San Jose leaders have reluctantly agreed to a plan to convert hundreds of hotel rooms into student housing amid concerns it will harm tourism. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a deal yesterday between San Jose State University and the owner of the former Fairmont Hotel, rebranded as Signia by Hilton last year, to sell...
Downtown San Jose office vacancies hit 10-year high
Downtown San Jose’s commercial vacancy rates are the highest they’ve been in more than a decade, according to a new report. While development is slowly increasing across the city, real estate agents are struggling to find renters or tenants to fill the spaces. About 24% of commercial space in San Jose was empty during the...
Apartments could fill empty downtown San Jose storefronts
The owners of a luxury downtown San Jose apartment complex want to transform the building’s commercial space into more housing after struggling to find business tenants. Houston-based The Hanover Company is seeking approval at a San Jose Planning Director’s hearing on Wednesday to make the change in its building at 715 W. Julian Street, just off...
Will downtown San Jose church become historic landmark?
A downtown San Jose church is on the cusp of becoming a historic landmark, potentially ending a yearslong battle to shield the 1940s-era building from redevelopment. The San Jose City Council will vote in the next few weeks to designate Grace Baptist Church as a historic landmark—protecting it, ideally, indefinitely. Councilmember Omar Torres’ request for the...
East San Jose store faces outcry for obtaining liquor license
An East San Jose convenience store with a controversial history has received a permit to sell alcohol, despite concerns of underage drinking and increasing crime in the area. The San Jose Planning Commission on Sept. 27 granted Fast Mart, a convenience store at 1484 S. White Road in the Mount Pleasant South neighborhood, a conditional use...
Downtown San Jose pub owner plans new restaurant and bar
A successful San Jose pub owner’s plans for a new restaurant and bar in downtown are moving forward after getting approval from city officials. The as-of-yet unnamed business is slated to open in two ground floor spaces in two buildings connected by a hallway at 189 and 177 W. Santa Clara St. near the corner...
San Jose landmark in danger of further deterioration
A blighted downtown San Jose landmark is at risk of further deterioration after the tarps and scaffolding that have surrounded it for years were suddenly removed. Preservationists are concerned about damage to the First Church of Christ Scientist building after a local business owner took matters into his own hands by removing coverings while conducting...
San Jose weighs upping fines for neglected properties
The continued neglect of a downtown San Jose landmark is prompting politicians to increase fines for delinquent property owners. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Omar Torres, who represents downtown San Jose, and several residents spoke this morning outside the dilapidated First Church of Christ Scientist building about a proposal to raise maximum fines levied...