Maracor and Pacific West eye retail to residential conversion in San Jose

Maracor Development and Pacific West Communities aim to replace a strip mall in South San Jose with a fully affordable housing complex.

Maracor, based in San Francisco, and Idaho-based Pacific West have filed plans to bulldoze Maplewood Plaza and build a 260-unit apartment building at 2628 and 2638 Union Avenue, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The six-story building would replace the 23,800-square-foot shopping center containing such businesses as a Gyro’s, Burgers & More, Harbor Fish & Chips, Anwar Bazaar & Bakery, Union Chinese Restaurant, Maya’s Cafe, Diamond Shoe Repair, Song’s Kung Fu, Lush Spaw and Vogue Salon & Lounge.

The retail center is owned by a San Jose-based family trust led by Joseph Kovalik, according to a property database. It wasn’t clear if the developers have reached a deal to eventually buy the property if the city approves the project.

The project, designed by Orange-based AO Architects, would feature a beige and white building with 112 studios, 68 two-bedroom units and 80 three-bedroom apartments above 2,400 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants. An initial plan called for 280 units and nearly 12,000 square feet of commercial space.

The residences would be “100 percent affordable,” according to new planning documents filed by the development alliance.

The 2.3-acre site near South Bascom Avenue is within two miles of light rail stops on the Old Ironsides-Winchester line and the Baypointe-Santa Teresa line.

Bob Staedler of Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy, said shopping center to residential conversions could become more common.

“It’s great to see development proposed with this density in this part of San Jose,” Staedler told the Mercury News.

On the other hand, he said, the proposed apartments aren’t much to look at, based on renderings filed with the city.

“The architecture of this submittal is lacking,” Staedler said. “It doesn’t have the urban vibrancy needed for housing projects.”

Last month, the city of San Jose authorized $160 million in bonds for affordable homes to be built by Maracor and Pacific West in South San Jose.

The developers have teamed up to build a seven-story, 271-unit project at 1007 Blossom Hill Road and a five-story, 123-unit development at 2350 South Bascom Avenue.

Pacific West Communities, a division of The Pacific Companies, has developed multifamily or senior housing in a dozen western states, according to its website. The Pacific Companies, founded in 1998, has completed more than 160 multifamily and charter school projects.

In July, it filed plans to build a 100-unit affordable housing complex in Fruitvale, in the East Bay.

In June, it won approval to build a 384-unit affordable housing complex with shops, restaurants and a public library in the unincorporated East Bay community of Bay Point.

In April, it scored $130 million in financing for nearly 280 units of affordable housing in Oakland and Milpitas. Pacific West also struck a deal last year with KT Urban to develop 48 rental units for low-income seniors in Cupertino.

— Dana Bartholomew

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