SAN JOSE — A big housing complex that could include affordable homes is being eyed on an increasingly busy street that links downtown San Jose with the citys mega-malls to the west, the projects developer said Thursday.
The development, planned for West San Carlos Street in San Jose, would create 230 residential units as well as add ground-floor retail and gathering areas for the neighborhood. Potentially 15 percent of the units would be set aside as affordable homes.
San Jose-based developer Core Cos. plans to build the residential project at 1301 W. San Carlos St. at the corner of Race Street. The developer noted that the complex would be between the bustling Santana Row and Westfield Valley Fair malls to the west and downtown San Jose and a proposed Google transit village a few blocks to the east.
“This corridor is one of my favorite areas in all of San Jose,” said Chris Enders, senior development manager with Core Cos.
Valley Fair is in the latter stages of a vast expansion that would add numerous retailers. Santana Row is busy with a huge new office complex and is attracting more shops and restaurants.
Downtown San Jose appears poised for a major expansion with numerous office complexes and towers being planned or already under construction. Google intends to develop a transit-oriented community of office buildings, homes, restaurants, shops, hotel rooms, and open spaces near the Diridon Station, which itself is slated to become a BART stop.
“This corridor is the next big area where you are going to see a lot of activity in San Jose,” Enders said. “It is an untapped resource.”
The development would likely be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, in the view of Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use and planning consultancy.
“We are in desperate need for more affordable housing,” Staedler said. “We should be smarter about how to get affordable housing projects built more efficiently.”
Staedler questions the scope and effect of San Jose city rules that oblige developers to include plenty of retail as part of their residential projects.
“The city is requiring retail in an area site that isnt really suited for retail,” Staedler said. “Look at the Smart & Final store at the opposite corner and it has its back to the street without an entrance on West San Carlos.”
The proposed development is located directly across from whats being planned as a high-capacity transit station, a mass-transit upgrade that will help speed people between the two shopping centers and the Google village and the rest of downtown San Jose.
“West San Carlos is planned as an urban villagRead More – Source
