DivcoWest is honing plans to convert a historic office building in Downtown San Jose into homes.
The San Francisco-based developer has updated its proposal to convert the former Bank of the West building at 2 West Santa Clara Street into either apartments, co-living units or a micro hotel, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The office-to-home conversion comes after DivcoWest revamped the 10-story, 100,000-square-foot tower, built in 1910, into “creative offices” for tech firms and business startups. A five-story mural honors the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
But demand for offices plunged after the pandemic with a shift to remote work. The office vacancy across Silicon Valley rose to 17 percent last month, with a record 7.6 million square feet of offices available for sublease.
DivcoWest has floated three options for its slate blue-and-white tower at West Santa Clara and South First Street.
An apartment option would include 65 units with work-from-home nooks, plus 1,500 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants. It would include a small office on the first floor and second-floor offices, plus a fitness center.
A co-living option would include 73 units with work-from-home nooks, plus the ground-floor retail and office, with offices across the second floor. Co-living set-ups can include shared facilities such as living rooms, kitchens or bathrooms. The fourth floor has a large living room and theater.
A micro hotel option would have 147 cozy rooms, with a ground-floor restaurant and bar. The first and second floor would contain unspecified features for guests; the fourth floor would have a co-working office.
In each version, an outdoor terrace would be on a lower fifth-floor roof. The potential cost of the office-to-home conversion was not disclosed.
Read more
Development
San Francisco
DivcoWest could transform century-old office building into housing
Commercial
San Francisco
Silicon Valley office vacancy jumps to 17% as tech firms shed floors
Residential
San Francisco
Developers envision homes at historic Bank of Italy office in San Jose
“Conversion to new uses would require an architectural remodel as well as a structural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems remodel,” DivcoWest said in a cover letter to the city about its plans.
In a similar move, Westbank and Urban Community have proposed converting the historic Bank of Italy at 12 South First Street in Downtown San Jose from offices into homes.
— Dana Bartholomew