SAN JOSE — Office spaces within a mixed-use building in downtown San Jose could be converted into housing units under a proposal that represents a fresh example of efforts to give vacant offices a new economic mission.
The proposal would create 47 apartments at a three-story building whose addresses range from 74 through 96 South First St. in downtown San Jose.
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The project would occur on the same block as another significant office-to-housing conversion that is planned for the Bank of Italy historic tower at 12 South First St., where Westbank is replacing the landmark’s offices with residential units.
The project involving the building at 74 South First St. would create apartments in the office spaces of the structure’s second and third floors.
“Any additional housing in downtown San Jose is a good idea,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy. “This building is an excellent candidate for an office-to-housing conversion.”
Future residents would be moving into a building with a distinctive history.
The Romanesque-style building was constructed in 1892 in the wake of a fire on that block. Prolific San Jose architects Jacob Lenzen and Theodore Lenzen designed the building, according to a document by the state Office of Historic Preservation.
The structure became known as the Security Building after Security State and Savings Bank occupied it in 1926.
The 47 residences would consist of 32 studios and 15 one-bedroom, one-bath units, documents on file with the city show. The studios would all contain efficiency kitchens.
The ground floor spaces are primarily retail-oriented. Elyse Restaurant is among the prominent merchants.
Green Valley Enterprises owns the building, according to Santa Clara County real estate records. MCM Diversified, the building’s property manager, filed the application with the city. Green Valley and MCM are both led by executives with direct ties to the Swenson family, which controls a vast Bay Area real estate and construction empire.
MCM Diversified said the conversion would be relatively straightforward, according to planning documents.
“Since the building’s original use when built in the 1890s was residential, this would restore the building’s original use,” MCM Diversified stated in a letter to city planners. “This is essentially a tenant improvement on an existing building.”