Westbank Pivots From Office to Residential in San Jose

Homes are hot, offices are not. That’s why Canadian developer Westbank has swapped an approved plan for a 14-story office building in Downtown San Jose for a housing highrise.

The Vancouver-based builder led by Ian Gillespie filed revised plans to build an 18-story residential tower at 255 West Julian Street, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The number of units, or whether the building would contain for-rent apartments or for-sale condominiums, were not disclosed. The Mercury News quotes Andrew Jacobson, principal executive for Westbank’s U.S. operations, as describing the revised project as “a new majority residential development.”

It was in 2021 that the City of San Jose greenlit plans by Westbank and locally based Urban Community to build the 14-story office building.

The 452,000-square-foot mass timber project, known as the Arbor, would have replaced a parking lot and connected to the Charles Davidson building, to be revamped at 255 West Julian.

It would also have contained 13,000 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants, plus terraces and a rooftop garden.

Then came a pandemic-led shift to remote work and a vast number of empty offices. The vacancy in Downtown San Jose was 35.6 percent in the first quarter, according to Savills.

Westbank to pivot from offices to homes in Downtown San Jose — Renders of 255 West Julian Street, San Jose (Westbank, Studio Gang)

The firm’s plan to pivot to housing was preliminary, and would add four stories to its former office plans. It would include a commercial component, possible retail. It could include four levels of underground parking, Westbank’s request for a site development permit shows.

It’s not clear if Urban Community would play a part in the revised project.

“We are currently going through the planning process and will continue to work closely with the City of San Jose to refine the project and complete the permitting process, so we can deliver new housing expediently,” Andrew Jacobson, principal executive for Westbank’s U.S. operations, told the Mercury News.

In January, Westbank and Urban Community were poised to break ground on a 540-unit apartment tower at 409 South Second Street, in the SoFa district. It’s one of three environmentally friendly tower proposals by the joint venture in Downtown.

Westbank and Urban Community have begun converting the century-old, 13-story Bank of Italy building into as many as 150 units at 12 South First Street. The Mediterranean Revival and Beaux-Arts landmark, designed by Henry Minton, was built in 1926 for the Bank of Italy, the forerunner of Bank of America.

— Dana Bartholomew