Lowe Enterprises could sell historic Hotel De Anza in San Jose

Lowe Enterprises Investors is poised to sell the historic Hotel De Anza in Downtown San Jose for as little as $10 million, half of what it traded for a decade ago. 

The Los Angeles-based landlord has entered into a potential deal to sell the 100-room Art Deco landmark at 233 West Santa Clara Street, the San Jose Mercury News reported, citing unidentified sources. The would-be buyer was undisclosed.

The purchase price is between $10 million and $12 million, or between $100,000 and $120,000 per room. Before the pandemic, the owner had fielded offers for as much as $30 million, or $300,000 per key.

Lowe had listed the 93-year-old hotel in September 2022, hoping to fetch as much as $35 million. Newmark’s Lodging Capital Markets division holds the listing.

Lowe Enterprises Investors bought the De Anza in 2014 for $20.4 million, or $204,000 per room. It’s now managed by Hyatt Hotels, based in Chicago.

In January, the value of the hotel property was $25.2 million, according to the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

The Hotel De Anza, known for its glowing rose neon rooftop sign, is a signature landmark for the South Bay city. 

The hotel abruptly closed in May, citing “unexpected maintenance.” One hotel worker said the closure was linked to water damage, according to the Mercury News.

The Jazz Age hotel is slated to reopen Oct. 1, according to its website.

The 10-story hotel opened in 1931 at the behest of business leaders who wanted to transform the reputation of a town then known for cherry and plum orchards.

The Zig Zag Moderne hotel, designed by W.H. Weeks, features a zig-zag parapet, a two-story lobby and a wrought-iron chandelier and balconies. A 25-foot mural of a woman diver nicknamed The Diving Diva has graced its west-facing wall since 1951.

The hotel that once drew the likes of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, boxing great Jack Dempsey and jazz icon Cab Calloway was almost demolished in the 1970s, then saved by the city’s redevelopment agency.

In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Four years later, it was renovated by Barry Swenson, grandson of the hotel’s builder, Carl Swenson. In 2015, the hotel completed a major renovation of its guest rooms, meeting spaces and common areas.

Lowe Enterprises Investors, founded by Chairman Bob Lowe in 1972, has major commercial properties in Arizona, California, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. according to its website. Its holdings include the historic Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego.

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

Commercial

San Francisco

Downtown San Jose’s Hotel De Anza put up for sale

Residential

San Francisco

Acquity Realty defaults on $10M loan for San Jose highrise project

Residential

San Francisco

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