San Jose Investors Target Half-Acre Site for 136 Apartments

A small investor group is looking to break into the downtown San Jose multifamily market as more builders look to plant their flags.

The group, led by an investor identified as Anthony Ho, has submitted preliminary plans for an eight-story residential building at 945 West Julian Street just west of downtown San Jose and within walking distance of Diridon Station and the SAP Center, the Mercury News reported.

It’s a notable proposal given that the project is being advanced by a group of individual investors rather than a traditional development firm. The project would bring 136 apartments to a parcel that measures less than a half-acre. Plans call for 28 studio units, 54 one-bedrooms and 54 two-bedroom apartments between 360 and 730 square feet.

The developers intend to use provisions of Senate Bill 330, a state housing law designed to streamline and accelerate local review of residential developments. The legislation has become an increasingly popular tool for builders seeking to avoid lengthy entitlement battles in high-cost housing markets.

The proposal remains in its early stages and could change before the investors seek formal approvals. If completed, it would add housing to a neighborhood that has seen significant multifamily investment. A few blocks away, the Diridon West apartment development grew the area’s residential footprint in 2021 with the addition of 249 units.

Other investors are looking to get in on the action near Diridon Station as well.

Last month, a proposal from a Swenson affiliate for a seven-story, 272-unit affordable apartment complex at 860 West San Carlos Street won final city approval. In April, the Sobrato Organization and Pacific West Communities filed preliminary plans for a 173-unit affordable housing development at 143 South Third Street in downtown. Farther north, Green Valley Corporation and Pacific Housing acquired a portion of a 13-acre site at 1655 Berryessa Road last month for roughly $15 million with plans to build a 260-unit affordable housing development known as Berryessa Family Apartments.

As part of its state-mandated housing construction requirements, the City of San Jose must plan for 62,200 new housing units by 2031.

— Chris Malone Méndez