DivcoWest could transform century-old office building into housing 

In the wake of an uneven return to the work by employees in San Jose, a downtown office tower might be converted into other uses. 

The building in question is the DivcoWest-owned former Bank of the West building, built in 1910 and located at the intersection of First and Santa Clara Streets, as reported by The Mercury News. 

In recent years DivcoWest attempted to remodel the interior of the building to create a creative office space that was meant to appeal to tech companies or startups seeking a trendy urban space. The San Francisco-based investment firm now has new plans for the building.

“An existing office building is being studied for conversion to three different non-office uses,” DivcoWest states in a preliminary filing with the San Jose Planning Department.

The three new potential uses could be apartments in a multifamily structure, co-living residential units or a hotel. Co-living projects sometimes feature shared facilities such as kitchens or bathrooms.

“This is the wave of the future for antiquated older office buildings that might not be filled again for decades if left alone,” David Taxin, partner with Meacham/Oppenheimer, told The Mercury News. “This is a fantastic solution for the housing crisis.”

DivcoWest’s preliminary review is to gauge the support a conversion would have from local leaders and community members. The company still needs to determine if the redevelopment would be economically feasible. 

“Conversion is very expensive but still cheaper than putting up a brand-new building,” Taxin said.

Many employees in San Jose, and the Bay Area at large, have continued to work remotely and recent economic conditions have made businesses wary of expanding into new office locations. However, the housing shortage in the Bay Area has kept demand high, which could be a reason DivcoWest is looking into a conversion. 

“The demand for housing in San Jose and Silicon Valley writ large is showing no sign of abating,” Nick Goddard from Colliers said. “This is great news for downtown and for this long-dormant former Bank of the West headquarters.”

If DivcoWest can successfully convert the office building to housing, that might help create a more vibrant downtown San Jose.

“This will bring yet more residents to our downtown, seeking access to transportation, jobs, quality entertainment and dining options,” Goddard said.

— Pawan Naidu