{"id":2175,"date":"2026-06-15T14:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175"},"modified":"2026-06-15T14:10:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T14:10:26","slug":"city-may-buy-san-jose-building-to-help-spur-housing-project-nearby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175","title":{"rendered":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

SAN JOSE \u2014 The city of San Jose might buy a historic downtown building in return for a commitment by the property\u2019s owner to build an apartment complex with hundreds of units nearby in the city\u2019s urban core.<\/p>\n

Read more Customers worry their landlines are languishing as AT&T escalates bid to drop mandatory service in California<\/a><\/p>\n

San Jose officials are eyeing the purchase for $3.6 million of the Knox-Goodrich historic building on South First Street in downtown San Jose. Bay Area developer Urban Catalyst would sell the building to the municipality, according to a city staff memo.<\/p>\n

As a key condition of the city\u2019s purchase of the building, at 26 through 36 S. First St., Urban Catalyst would begin construction in 2027 of a 276-unit apartment complex several blocks away at 470 Gifford St. in San Jose, city public documents show.<\/p>\n

If the city\u2019s gambit to buy the Knox-Goodrich building from Urban Catalyst unfolds, the real estate firm would be obliged to complete a permit process by the end of 2026 on the eight-story Gifford Apartments on the western edge of downtown San Jose.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Urban Catalyst would be required to launch vertical construction on the eight-story Gifford site by the end of next year.<\/p>\n

As a sweetener for development of the Gifford Apartments, officials will recommend that the residential hub be granted admission into San Jose\u2019s downtown incentive program.<\/p>\n

City leaders crafted the downtown incentive program to stimulate growth in the city\u2019s urban core by cutting construction taxes, park impact fees and permit costs for developers.<\/p>\n

Urban Catalyst bought the Knox-Goodrich building in 2019, paying $9.1 million, city officials stated in a staff report. San Jose economic development director Jen Baker, housing director Eric Solvan, and budget director Jim Shannon signed the memo.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Following the Knox-Goodrich site purchase, Urban Catalyst won city approval of a six-story mixed-use office and commercial building that would have featured ground-floor retail and a rooftop restaurant.<\/p>\n

Urban Catalyst began some preliminary construction on the South First site, which has been empty since the Lido night club shut its doors in 2019.<\/p>\n

The coronavirus outbreak, collapse in demand for new office space and a sour environment for financing new commercial real estate prompted Urban Catalyst to suspend development of the Knox-Goodrich property, according to the San Jose staff memo.<\/p>\n

The combination of the city\u2019s purchase and the apartment project development could help fuel an upswing in vibrancy for San Jose\u2019s sluggish downtown.<\/p>\n

Read more Police arrest East Bay man suspected of causing $48,000 in damages to ATM<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Gifford, along with Urban Catalyst\u2019s Icon-Echo Apartments, Gateway Residential Tower by CORE Developers, and the Bank of Italy conversion to residential units by Westbank, will spur a revitalization\u201d in downtown San Jose, city staffers wrote in a memo to the city council.<\/p>\n

Once San Jose completes its purchase of the Knox-Goodrich building, the city intends to hold back in escrow $975,000 of the money the municipality is paying until Urban Catalyst accomplishes the development metrics regarding the 470 Gifford apartments, the staff documents show.<\/p>\n

The Knox-Goodrich building totals roughly 11,200 square feet, city officials reported. The building is associated with Sarah Knox-Goodrich, who commissioned the building in the 19th century and was an advocate for women\u2019s rights and suffrage.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstructed in 1889, the stone-and-brick building is a rare and significant example of Romanesque Revival commercial architecture in downtown San Jose and reflects the city\u2019s late-19th-century commercial development style,\u201d city staffers reported in the memo.<\/p>\n

At one point, Valbridge Property Advisors appraised the Knox-Goodrich building at $2.78 million, the city staffers stated. Urban Catalyst, however, declined an offer for the building at that price, the city documents show.<\/p>\n

If San Jose\u2019s purchase quest succeeds, the city will own a choice site next to the emerging Fountain Alley area in the city\u2019s historic district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recommended acquisition allows the city to act opportunistically to acquire a very well situated and historically prominent parcel of land downtown, while supporting near-term housing production and ground-floor commercial activation to advance the area\u2019s revitalization,\u201d the city staffers wrote in the memo to the San Jose City Council.<\/p>\n

City officials intend to proceed with short-term plans for the building on South First Street should San Jose buy the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce acquired, staff will activate the ground-floor storefront in the historic Knox-Goodrich building with a cultural-serving or commercial use,\u201d city staffers stated in the memo.<\/p>\n

Officials also envision long-term opportunities for the Knox-Goodrich property.<\/p>\n

City housing staffers will seek development proposals for the Knox-Goodrich site. The city would make a variety of financing tools, including housing production incentive programs and master-leasing of affordable apartment units in a new project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strategy for the parcel\u2019s development is a housing-focused mixed-use project with active ground-floor uses,\u201d city staffers stated. \u201cThe goal is to spur a public-private partnership project into construction within three years\u201d at the Knox-Goodrich building.<\/p>\n

Read more Vietnamese \u2018broken rice\u2019 gets elevated at a new East Bay restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The city of San Jose might buy a historic downtown building in return for a commitment by the property’s owner to build an apartment complex with hundreds of units nearby in the city’s urban core.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nCity may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The city of San Jose might buy a historic downtown building in return for a commitment by the property's owner to build an apartment complex with hundreds of units nearby in the city's urban core.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175\"},\"wordCount\":839,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175\",\"name\":\"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2175#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest","og_description":"The city of San Jose might buy a historic downtown building in return for a commitment by the property's owner to build an apartment complex with hundreds of units nearby in the city's urban core.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby","datePublished":"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175"},"wordCount":839,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175","name":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-15T14:10:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dade15f29b21d014fac808812ae6b3eb.webp","width":1024,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2175#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"City may buy San Jose building to help spur housing project nearby"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}