Real estate firms eye 400-plus homes at San Jose office building site

SAN JOSE — Two real estate allies are floating a plan to develop well over 400 homes next to a San Jose train stop, a project that would replace a large empty office building with affordable apartments and market-rate houses.

SummerHill Homes and Cypress Equity Investments are planning to build a 446-unit mixed-density residential community at 3550 N. First St. in San Jose, said Kevin Ebrahimi, senior vice president of development with SummerHill.

The two real estate firms have obtained a contract to buy a 5.9-acre site that includes the vacant office building, a surface parking lot and some empty land.

The housing development would consist of 373 affordable apartments for rent and 73 townhouse-style condominiums that would be for sale at market rates, according to Ebrahimi.

“The apartment component will be 100% affordable housing, serving a range of income levels with an average affordability target of 60% of the area median income,” Ebrahimi said.

In 2026, the area median income in Santa Clara County was $205,500 for a four-person household and $143,850 for a one-person household, according to posted by the state Housing and Community Development Department.

This suggests the average income limit for the affordable housing at the 3550 N. First site would be $123,300 for a four-person household and $86,310 for one person.

The housing project site is between Tasman Drive and Baypoint Parkway. It’s across the street from the Tasman light rail station.

LBA Realty owns the property. An LBA affiliate paid $18.5 million for the property in February 2025. That purchase price was 42.9% below the site’s $32.4 million assessed value in January 2025.

Jolted by a feeble office market, a growing number of developers are considering ways to convert their office properties to other uses, such as housing projects.