KT Urban Looks to Build 176-Room Hotel in San Jose

KT Urban wants to build a 176-room hotel across from Santana Row in San Jose.

The Cupertino-based developer led by Ken and Mark Tersini has filed plans to build the seven-story hotel at 425 South Winchester Boulevard, the San Jose Mercury News reported. It would replace a gasoline station and The Everest Momo, a Nepalese restaurant.

The hotel at South Winchester Boulevard and Olin Avenue would rise next to the 376,000-square-foot office building of One Santana West, near the offices for Splunk and NetApp.

What’s dubbed The Olin Hotel would contain 176 rooms, with six of its seven floors having up to 30 suites, according to a preliminary proposal filed last fall by Eric Price of Lowney Architecture, based in Oakland.

One challenge facing the hotel is limited on-site parking. The project would include up to 15 “limited duration” parking spaces and five valet parking spots, according to planning documents filed in September. Other parking would be accommodated via an off-site valet lot.

The project, located a few blocks from Westfield Valley Fair, would have no significant impact on the environment, according to the city.

If the project secures approval, KT Urban could break ground next year and complete the hotel in late 2026 or early 2027.

The slate blue and white hotel, designed by Lowney Architecture, contains banks of vertical windows without balconies, according to rendering. The ground floor appears to contain shops and restaurants.

An affiliate of KT Urban bought the site in December 2020 for $7.6 million, while obtaining a $5 million loan from First Republic Bank.

In December, a joint venture that included KT Urban sold The Oaks Shopping Center in Cupertino slated to be redeveloped into a mixed-use complex of nearly 300 townhomes and senior apartments for $80.5 million.

KT Urban also partnered with another developer to build 48 affordable apartments for low-income seniors in the same master-planned community it envisioned in Cupertino.

In July 2021, KT Urban received the go-ahead to build Woz Way Offices, a 1.8-million-square-foot office development at 280 Woz Way in San Jose. Its two 20-story office towers will include 10,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

— Dana Bartholomew