Santana Row Poised for Apartments in San Jose Housing Push

The Bay Area — and by extension, Lake Tahoe — could see more people moving in or visiting over the next several years.

Across the state, Palisades Tahoe, the ski resort that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, is moving forward with an expansion notably smaller than originally planned.

The resort came to a settlement with two environmental groups, Sierra Watch and the League to Save Lake Tahoe, to build 896 new hotel rooms and condominium units as well as 222,000 square feet of commercial space next to its ski area. It’s a far cry from Palisades Tahoe’s initial proposal approved by Placer County officials in 2016. That plan called for 2,184 hotel rooms and condo units, a water park, wave pool, indoor river, simulated indoor skydiving facility and 278,000 square feet of retail.

Fun-seekers looking to entertain themselves off the slopes might still have options, though. Palisades Tahoe is permitted to build a recreation center with climbing walls, ziplines and swimming pools. If approved by the county, construction could begin in the next two to three years.

Santana Row prepares for first new housing in decade

San Jose’s Santana Row mixed-use district is poised to get its first new housing project in a decade.

Santana Row owner and developer Federal Realty Investment Trust is planning to build a 258-unit apartment complex at 358 Hatton Street on the east side of the development. The site is currently a surface parking lot for shops, restaurants, offices and homes in the Santana Row area.

Most of the apartments will be studios and one-bedrooms; 95 of the 258 units would be studios, 131 would be one-bedrooms and 32 would be two-bedrooms. Federal Realty is hoping to attract “a younger demographic that wants to live and work in a fully amenitized and immersive environment,” according to Patrick McMahon, senior vice president of development at Federal Realty.

Units are expected to be ready for occupancy in 2027.

San Jose foot traffic bounces back

As Bay Area cities continue their post-pandemic recovery, San Jose is leading the way in recuperation of foot traffic.

Since 2019, downtown San Jose has regained approximately 90 percent of its foot traffic, according to cell phone tracking data from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. In December, at the height of the holiday shopping rush, it was back to nearly 100 percent of pre-pandemic activity. Meanwhile, downtown Oakland has reclaimed 74 percent of its pre-pandemic street activity, while San Francisco is still seeing less than 60 percent of its former foot traffic.

In an effort to invite more businesses and residents, the city of San Jose is offering zero business tax and free parking for two years to tenants that sign new leases. In addition, the city is hoping to hop on the artificial intelligence boom by offering cash incentives to AI firms that move into town.

Historic Berkeley theater redevelopment project killed after Gilbane backs out

The effort to breathe new life into the 111-year-old California Theatre in Berkeley is dead.

Gilbane Development, the Rhode Island-based firm charged with redeveloping the aging venue, pulled out of the endeavor, effectively killing the project. The California Theater Consortium, a coalition of groups led by the nonprofit Korsa Musical Theater, spearheaded the effort and the partnership with Gilbane to bring the Berkeley theater back to life.

“Without [Gilbane’s] support, we are no longer able to move forward with the development,” the California Theater Consortium said in a statement.

The California Theatre shuttered in 2021 after more than a century in operation. If the redevelopment project were completed, the historic facade and marquee of the California Theatre would’ve been preserved while the rest of the building would have been demolished to make way for a new 24,273-square-foot live performance space and 211 housing units, including 22 affordable apartments.

The consortium isn’t giving up hope, however.

“While this project has come to a close, the mission of the California Theater Consortium is far from over,” the coalition said. “The need for a permanent, affordable home for Berkeley’s performing arts community remains urgent, and we are actively pursuing new pathways and partnerships to make that vision a reality.”

Reichmann real estate heir continues Union Square buying spree

Ian Jacobs, a scion of the legendary Reichmann real estate dynasty, is continuing his San Francisco building-buying blitz with a new Union Square purchase.

Jacobs, acting through 35 Powell LLC, bought a two-story, 17,000-square-foot commercial building at 35-41 Powell Street for $7.1 million.

The onetime Berkshire Hathaway investment researcher under Warren Buffett is in the process of snapping up buildings across San Francisco — specifically in the Union Square neighborhood — as part of his Project Uris plan. The endeavor, backed by $75 million from fundraising, aims to buy 3 million square feet of property across downtown San Francisco.

Last month, Jacobs bought a five-story, 21,412-square-foot office building with ground-floor retail at 111 Ellis Street, located next door to 35 Powell. In May, he kicked off the shopping spree with the acquisition of 200-216 Powell Street for $7.4 million.

San Francisco Giants’ chief development officer has high hopes for Mission Rock project

Jack Bair, chief development officer for the San Francisco Giants, is looking forward to seeing its new Mission Rock mixed-use neighborhood rise in Mission Bay, across Mission Creek from the Giants’ home of Oracle Park. The development is a joint effort between the Giants, Tishman Speyer and the Port of San Francisco.

“There was a perception that Mission Bay needed a little bit more oomph in terms of social spaces and activity, and so they very much viewed Mission Rock as something that would make their neighborhood better,” he said in an interview about the “new downtowns” for the July 2025 issue of The Real Deal.

Mission Rock’s location will purportedly prove to be an advantage when attracting new tenants to this new core of activity in downtown.

“We talked to some national retailers that, just San Francisco alone, they didn’t want to touch,” Bair said. “But folks that are knowledgeable about this marketplace see this as a very favorable location, so we’ve done pretty well.”

— Chris Malone Méndez