{"id":5282,"date":"2026-07-24T06:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5282"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:36:54","slug":"san-jose-planners-approve-apartment-complex-in-deal-tied-to-historic-downtown-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5282","title":{"rendered":"San Jose planners approve apartment complex in deal tied to historic downtown building"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE \u2014 The San Jose Planning Department on Wednesday approved an apartment complex linked to an effort by the city to buy a historic downtown building from the developer of the residences. A neighborhood group group is appealing that decision.<\/p>\n

Read more West Contra Costa USD officials implore public to renew parcel tax in November<\/a><\/p>\n

The eight-story apartment project, known as The Gifford, would produce 276 apartments at 470 West San Carlos St. An affiliate of Urban Catalyst, a Bay Area real estate firm, is the developer.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s approval arrives on the heels of a preliminary decision by the City Council to pay $3.6 million to buy the Knox-Goodrich building at 26 through 36 South First St. An Urban Catalyst affiliate owns the building and would sell it to the city.<\/p>\n

Erik Solivan, San Jose\u2019s housing director, said during a June council meeting that the deals would proceed separately and with sufficient scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese two things are bridged together, but they are not in any way tied together,\u201d Solivan said. \u201cApproval of one does not fast-track approval of the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stakeholders + Neighborhoods Initiative, a group formed by some residents who live near The Gifford development site, have raised concerns about the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw our years of dedication to the city thrown out when a developer made the arbitrary claim that the development would no longer \u2018pencil out.\u2019 Where is the proof?\u201d said Kathy Sutherland, president of the group. \u201cThe project was not evaluated properly by planning staff. It really comes down to lack of evidence supporting what they claim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sutherland said the planning staff\u2019s decision ignored design standards that considered the views of nearby residents, including a section of the new building that would be directly next to existing single-family homes.<\/p>\n

Read more Fremont council rejects possible half-cent tax ballot measure<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cUrban Catalyst proposes an eight-story building that, by the city\u2019s own analysis, is \u2018a building with no setbacks\u2019 at the shared property line with our homes,\u201d Stakeholders + Neighborhoods wrote in a letter.<\/p>\n

Stakeholders + Neighborhoods Initiative said typical design guidelines in downtown areas near the Diridon train station require projects to have a step-back arrangement so they don\u2019t loom over existing homes.<\/p>\n

The City Council will now need to decide where to uphold the appeal or reject it.<\/p>\n

San Jose officials believe the purchase of the historic building and development of The Gifford would greatly benefit downtown.<\/p>\n

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\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 that was prepared for its June 16 meeting.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Anthony Tordillos said the deal will help the city achieve its housing goals and noted that San Jose is buying the building for 60% less than what Urban Catalyst paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a slam dunk for the city,\u201d Tordillos said, emphasizing San Jose in 2025 hit only 33% of its targeted mandate for the creation of new housing units. \u201cWe need all the housing we can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Letters: Local control crucial to coastal towns like Half Moon Bay<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City staffers have approved a San Jose apartment complex tied to the municipality’s plans to buy a historic building from the same real estate group that is developing the residences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Jose planners approve apartment complex in deal tied to historic downtown building - 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=5282\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Jose planners approve apartment complex in deal tied to historic downtown building - 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