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Imwalle Properties files plans for 1.3M sf office project in downtown San Jose
16-story project almost twice as large as initially envisioned as its developer has become more bullish on area’s potential
Imwalle Properties filed plans for a 1.3-million-square-foot office building on downtown San Jose’s west side that borders some of the property Google intends to redevelop for its 80-acre mixed-use project.
Imwalle’s 16-story development at 250 Stockton Avenue is almost twice as large as the 700,000-square-foot project it initially envisioned in 2019, the Mercury News reported this week. The developer was able to increase its size mainly through converting floors and space for parking to offices and other uses, Don Imwalle, president of the company that bears his surname, told The Real Deal last month.
“We could not be more excited about the transformation of downtown and the commitment and creativity of Google and the quality of design, amenities, and mix of office and housing that they’re going to deliver to that part of town,” Imwalle said last month. “We certainly welcome them with open arms and look forward to being part of the changing landscape.”
His company’s plans, filed with the city last month, involve demolishing a 94,000-square-foot building Imwalle Properties owns and building a structure with about 915,000 square feet of offices in its place, the Mercury News reported. Designed by Steinberg Hart, the structure has a so-called split tower design that encloses an internal light and air shaft, and also features a central courtyard, roof decks, and terraces.
Besides bordering part of the site of Google’s Downtown West development, the Stockton Avenue project is about a half-mile from the SAP Center, where the San Jose Sharks pro hockey team plays their home games, and Diridon Station, the city’s main transit hub. It’s also unique in that it’s proposed for the west side of Highway 87; most of downtown San Jose’s planned and existing offices are east of the highway.
“Bottom line, I don’t think we’d be submitting what we are if it wasn’t for all that they’re doing,” Imwalle said, referring to Google and its planned transit village around Diridon Station. He also cited the impending arrival of BART service to the area and the electrification of Caltrain, two projects he says will help “change the focus of where people want to work.”
Imwalle said he hopes the city’s approval process for his Stockton Avenue project will take less than a year, adding that even if it receives San Jose’s blessing, he doesn’t think anything will happen to the existing site for at least another three years.
“We’re years away from being able to come out of the ground,” he said. “We will see where we are as the years go by.”
[The Mercury News] — Matthew Niksa