Swenson Affiliate Defaults on San Jose Building Loan

An ownership group tied to Swenson, a century-old South Bay developer, has defaulted on a $12 million loan linked to a two-story office building in San Jose.

Green Valley, led by Swenson CEO Case Swenson and based in the same headquarters in San Jose, defaulted on the loan tied to the 75,900-square-foot building at 2290 North First Street, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Its agent is Craig Cameron, chief financial officer for Swenson.

In 2021, Prime Finance Short Duration Holding provided the $12-million loan to the Swenson affiliate backed by the building. As of the date of the default notice filing, the unpaid debt on the property was $10.1 million, according to the Mercury News.

Vacancy at the building, built in 1984 north of San Jose international airport across the street from Paypal’s headquarters, isn’t known.

Swenson, whose roots date back to the Carl N. Swenson Company founded in 1912, has built some of the most significant landmarks in San Jose, including the Hotel de Anza and the San Jose City Hall and Civic Center.

Last week, Swenson and Agoura Hills-based Amcal Housing landed $150 million in financing for their 19-story, 260-unit student housing complex at 88 East San Carlos Street, in Downtown San Jose.

This fall, the firm filed plans to build a 205-unit affordable housing complex at 160 West Julian Street.

The landlord isn’t the only owner of north San Jose office property to struggle financially. Others include the following:

The owner of a building at 3100 North First Street was foreclosed and seized by its lender at a value of $19 million in May, according to the Mercury News.

It was then bought for $17.5 million by a fast-expanding biotech company in September. In January, the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office placed the then-empty building’s value at $32.1 million.

A building at 10 West Tasman Drive was taken back by its lender through a foreclosure last month valued at $23.7 million, far below its assessed value of $51.3 million at the start of this year. The foreclosure occurred despite the former owner’s efforts to forestall the process by filing for bankruptcy.

— Dana Bartholomew