The 5 Developments Creating a Multibillion Dollar Makeover for Downtown San Jose

There have been many developers with visions of grandeur for Downtown San Jose who have proposed projects that would redefine the city’s function within the greater Bay Area. In recent years, there has certainly been a shift as some of these developers have begun to follow through. Recently, two developers, Westbank Corp. and Urban Community, have released their vision for a multibillion-dollar effort that would reshape Downtown with a series of projects across downtown San Jose. 

This week, the two developers unveiled renderings for five projects that they are slated to develop in the downtown core. This overarching development plan includes projects in the SoFA District, the San Pedro Square Area, and the central business district near Fountain Alley.

What these and other developers in the area are hoping to accomplish with their new projects is to create an urban environment where professionals can both live and work in the city center. Typically, in the Bay Area, most people tend to live far away from their work and have to commute, with some even traveling for hours. 

According to the Westbank developers, San Jose is positioned well for a transition to this urban-centered makeover with either existing factors such as energy and transportation infrastructure or sufficient plans for those key factors in the future.

         “San Jose presents the unique opportunity to broadcast to the world that the solutions to our greatest challenges do not exist in utopian cities, but rather can be achieved by helping our existing cities live up to their full potential,” Westbank said in the document. “We believe San Jose … is the ideal place to begin leading this movement within the United States.” 

(-Sourced from the Silicon Valley Business Journal)

The five projects presented by these developers are listed below and are currently under review by city planners. For more information on the individual projects, click here: https://bit.ly/3cimWHE

1) Arbor

Address: At and around 255 W. Julian St.

Architect: Studio Gang

2) Bank of Italy rehabilitation

Address: 12 S. 1st St.

Architects: Bjarke Ingels Group and RMW Architecture & Interiors

3) Park Habitat

Address: 180 Park Ave.

Architect: Kengo Kuma and Associates

4) The Energy Hub

Address: 35 S. 2nd St.

Architect: Bjarke Ingels Group

5) The Orchard

Address: 300 S. 1st St. and 409 S. 2nd St.

Architects: James K.M. Cheng Architects, WRNS Studio, Steinberg Hart (architect of record)