Developers envision up to 4K homes on closed golf course near San Jose

Lakeside Community has pitched a plan to rezone a shuttered golf course in an unincorporated pocket of east San Jose for redevelopment into as many as 4,000 homes.

The San Jose-based developer led by Tony Arreola and Mark Lazzarini aim to have Santa Clara County rezone the 114-acre Pleasant Hills Golf Course site at 2050 and 2079 South White Road, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The move comes as the county adopted a state-mandated plan for 6,566 homes, including 2,425 affordable units, by 2031. 

The golf course, which closed in 2004, is at the northeast corner of South White and Tully roads, in the Lake Cunningham area. 

The Duino family, owner of Pleasant Hills, listed it in June for $125 million, or $1.1 million an acre, according to The Real Deal. It’s among the largest development sites in Silicon Valley.

The property is across from the 160-acre regional Lake Cunningham Park and surrounded on three sides by single-family homes. The course is also a 15-minute drive from San Jose. 

“The decommissioned Pleasant Hills golf course promises to be one of the most significant sites for residential development within the unincorporated county during the 2023-2031 planning period,” Santa Clara County planning staff said in a report before its “Housing Element” was approved last week.

“Including the Pleasant Hills site means that the county will not be forced to designate rural unincorporated areas as housing sites, thereby avoiding instigating urban-scale development in rural areas.”

Between 2,480 to 3,991 homes could be developed on the former links, plus shops, restaurants and parks, according to estimates contained in the county report before its Board of Supervisors approved its state-mandated housing plan.

San Jose has yet to win state approval for its separate housing element plan. At some point, the golf course site could be annexed into the city.

Terrascape Ventures, a San Jose-based developer also led by Arreola and Lazzarini, hopes to persuade San Jose to amend its general plan. That would begin a formal approval process for a specific housing project it wants to build atop the golf course property.

“The Pleasant Hills site is a great opportunity not only to provide additional housing for Santa Clara County residents, but also to deliver numerous benefits to the site’s surrounding communities,” said Lazzarini, a Terrascape Ventures partner.

In April, Terrascape agreed to buy the 3,700-acre Richmond Ranch in southeast San Jose for an undisclosed price. The century-old ranch was listed for $29.7 million

— Dana Bartholomew

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