Valley Oak Partners has moved forward with a plan to replace offices with 737 apartments and townhomes in North San Jose.
The locally based developer has entered an environmental and public review for the 10-acre project at 211, 251 and 281 River Oaks Parkway, in Coyote Creek North, the San Jose Mercury News and SFYimby reported.
A 164,600-square-foot office campus with three research buildings across from River Oaks Park would be demolished.
Plans call for a 505-unit, seven-story market-rate apartment building with a pool; a 132-unit, five-story affordable housing complex with two courtyards; and 100 three-story townhomes with a pool. A green belt would run between the apartments and connect with River Oaks Parkway.
The affordable apartments would range from 360 to 1,037 square feet. The market-rate apartments would span 536 to 1,290 square feet. The townhomes would run 1,230 to 1,790 square feet. Parking would be included for 891 cars and 345 bicycles.
The project, designed by Oakland-based Studio T-Square, would include a white affordable housing complex, a gray, beige and brown market-rate complex with exterior balconies and brown and white townhomes, according to newly unveiled renderings.
The project at River Oaks Parkway and Zanker Road sits near other apartment complexes and tech hubs. Because of a faltering office market, more developers and property owners seek to redevelop offices for apartments, according to the Mercury News.



Preliminary permits were filed last summer, using Senate Bill 330 to streamline approvals. The developer expects to start construction on the townhomes by November 2026, with apartments starting in mid-2028.
American River Capital, based in Sacramento, bought the property in 2014 for $52.1 million.
Valley Oak Partners has yet to purchase the property, as developers often hold off buying project sites until cities give them project approvals.
The property is in a new neighborhood featuring the 1,750-unit Crescent Village Apartments built by the Irvine Company, based in Newport Beach. Next door is the 293-unit Aire Apartments built by Pacific Development, based in Alameda. River Oaks Park was once the site of a Sony manufacturing plant, according to SFYimby.
Similar redevelopment is underway nearby.
In July last year, San Ramon-based SummerHill Housing Group employed the state’s builder’s remedy to fasttrack the approval of 143 townhomes at 150 River Oaks Parkway, next to the Intel Innovation Campus. They would replace a 100,000-square-foot office and research building.
Valley Oaks Partners, founded in 2008 by Greg Poncetta, a senior vice president at CBRE, has acquired, redeveloped or is processing approvals for more than 2,300 residential units and 1.5 million square feet of commercial development, according to Thesis Driven, a developer database.
In March, the developer filed plans to redevelop part of Oracle’s office and research campus in Santa Clara into more than 500 homes. Plans call for 416 townhomes, 120 apartments and 48 single-family homes on 38 acres at 4120 Network Circle.
In 2022, Valley Oak paid $22 million for 6 acres near South Third and Keyes street in Downtown San Jose that could be turned into an industrial or commercial center. A year earlier, the company spent $16 million on on four sites in Milpitas, Campbell and San Jose
— Dana Bartholomew
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