Speedy Throckmorton delivers hotel-to-housing project in San Jose

Throckmorton Partners could teach a class on hotel-to-student housing conversions.

It took nine months for the Mill Valley-based developer to convert half of the Signia by Hilton San Jose hotel at 170 South Market Street into apartments for San Jose State University students, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The 13-story Spartan Village on the Paseo, formerly the 264-room south tower of the hotel, opened this week with beds for almost 700 students.

“The reuse of an underutilized asset is a great model, as is having nearly 700 students living in the middle of Downtown San Jose and in the center of the largest non-vehicle corridor in Downtown,” Charlie Faas, San Jose State’s vice president for administration and finance, told the newspaper.

“The daily activity of these students and the residence staff will be a significant revitalization in the area.” 

In October, the City of San Jose approved splitting the former Fairmont San Jose hotel for student housing. At the same time, Throckmorton bought the hotel’s curving south tower for $73.1 million, or $276,894 per room, leaving the university an option to buy the property.

The developer then poured $40 million into converting hotel suites into student apartments. Demolition began in April; construction started in May. Completion wrapped up this week.

The Spartan Village includes on-site dining, a fitness center, study lounges, a movie and gaming theater and a community kitchen. The housing is a seven-minute walk to San Jose State’s main campus.

The university leased the building for undisclosed terms. The state school has agreed to buy the property after 25 months for $165 million, or $625,000 per room, assuming the same number of rooms as before the conversion began.

Rooms include a mix of double, triple and quad beds. Rents range from $6,154 to $7,571 total for the four-month fall semester, according to the project’s website. More than 120 beds are set aside as affordable for qualified students, according to the Chronicle.

The Signia by Hilton operates in the 541-room main tower at 171 Market Street, which underwent a recent renovation. This month, hotel owner Eagle Canyon Capital of San Ramon was close to refinancing $165 million in debt tied to the property.

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Another San Jose housing conversion project at the historic Bank of Italy office tower has also started construction, with 100 or more proposed apartments, according to the Chronicle.

Throckmorton Partners, founded in 2014 and run by David Silver, specializes in student housing, affordable housing and market-rate housing, according to its website. It often partners with public agencies such as San Jose State, while priding itself for “quick underwriting and execution.”

— Dana Bartholomew