{"id":3166,"date":"2026-06-27T19:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T19:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3166"},"modified":"2026-06-27T19:38:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T19:38:02","slug":"san-jose-school-district-weighs-buying-downtown-tower-for-employee-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3166","title":{"rendered":"San Jose school district weighs buying downtown tower for employee housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 A South Bay school district that closed five elementary schools earlier this year because of declining enrollment is exploring whether to buy a 337-unit downtown San Jose condo tower and turn it into housing for its workers.<\/p>

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The possible purchase by San Jose Unified School District involves the eastern tower at 188 W. St. James St., a long-vacant residential high-rise, according to a document prepared for a recent school board meeting.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/figure>\nSan Jose Unified serves about 25,000 students and employs more than 2,700 people. The 337 condos would represent enough housing for about 1 in 8 district workers, assuming one unit per employee, though the district has not said which employees would qualify or how much they would pay in rent.<\/p>\n

If pursued, the deal would mark one of the region\u2019s more ambitious attempts by a school district to address the housing crisis for educators and staff.<\/p>\n

RELATED: San Jose opens interest list for public workers seeking subsidized downtown housing<\/strong><\/p>\n

The district has hired CBRE, a commercial real estate firm, to evaluate the property and help determine whether a purchase should move forward. The firm is expected to assess the tower\u2019s fair-market value, help craft an acquisition strategy, recommend a price and prepare a timeline for a possible purchase, district documents show.<\/p>\n

The potential deal comes after voters in November 2024 approved Measure R, which authorizes San Jose Unified to issue $1.15 billion in bonds over 30 years for facilities improvements. An estimated $283 million of that amount could be used to create housing for school district staffers.<\/p>\n

The possible purchase also follows the district\u2019s closure of five elementary schools earlier this year, a move officials said was needed to address declining enrollment and make better use of its campuses.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe district is interested in potentially acquiring a fee simple interest in the following real property comprising of 337 turnkey residential condominium units in the East Tower \u2026 and certain common space portions of the mixed-use condominium development located at 188 West Saint James St. in San Jose,\u201d stated a contracting agreement prepared for the June 11 school board meeting.<\/p>

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The 337 condos in the 22-story eastern tower would be used for \u201cemployee housing,\u201d the agreement stated. The condos would be rented to district workers.<\/p>\n

Machine Investment Group, which owns the two-tower complex, gained control of the 640-unit residential hub in June 2025 through a foreclosure that valued the property at $181.9 million. That would work out to roughly $284,200 per condo.<\/p>\n

The company is separately trying to sell all the condos in the 20-story, 303-unit western tower. Sales of those units began May 15. Through the close of business June 24, Machine Investment had sold 11 condos, according to a review of documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder\u2019s Office.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

Edward Matevosian, the CBRE executive providing consulting services related to the possible purchase of the eastern tower, will receive at least $50,000 and as much as $863,000 for his work, a school district document shows.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s interest in the downtown tower is not its only attempt to create housing for workers.<\/p>\n

In November 2025, San Jose Unified floated a plan to develop a 288-unit apartment complex at 760 Hillsdale Ave. in San Jose. That project, still in its early stages, would create apartments priced at levels district workers could afford, according to documents posted on the district\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkplace housing is a pressing issue for us,\u201d Seth Reddy, the district\u2019s chief business officer, said at the time the 760 Hillsdale proposal emerged. \u201cWe cannot pay our staff sufficient wages to live in comfort and dignity in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The school district did not immediately respond to questions about the possible purchase of the downtown tower, including how much the deal could cost and whether Measure R bond funds would be used.<\/p>

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A South Bay school district is pondering the possible purchase of a long-empty San Jose residential tower to create a place where the educational system’s workers could live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Jose school district weighs buying downtown tower for employee housing - 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=3166\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Jose school district weighs buying downtown tower for employee housing - 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