SAN JOSE — A business and office hub could be converted to a housing development with well over 100 units in a fresh effort to replace offices with residences, according to documents on file in Santa Clara County and at San Jose City Hall.
Eyed at the corner of Bernal Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard, an affiliate controlled by Campbell-based business executive Shawn Taheri paid $7.1 million for three parcels where the development is proposed, according to documents filed on July 16 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
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The parcels have addresses of 175 Bernal Rd., 6980 Santa Teresa Blvd., and 6990 Santa Teresa Blvd., Santa Clara County property files show.
At the time of the purchase, the Taheri-led group obtained about $3.5 million in financing from lender Citizens Equity First Credit Union.
The San Jose planning staff provided information that could provide guidance regarding how many units might sprout on the site as sketched out in a very preliminary proposal at City Hall.
The scope of work describes a project that would “demolish all existing commercial buildings and construct mixed-income multi-family housing at around 60 dwelling units per acre,” a project proposal on file with city officials states.
Roughly 180 apartments might be built on the 3-acre site, based on the preliminary calculation of 60 dwelling units an acre.
The developer for the property would like San Jose planners to review the proposal under the provisions of AB 2243, a California law approved by the state Legislature in September 2024.
The law reins in city and county reviews of housing development proposals in their respective jurisdictions, according to an assessment by law firm Best, Best & Krieger. AB 2243 also enables developers to more easily gain final approval for a proposed housing project.
The applicants have asked the city to confirm that the property meets the requirements under provisions of AB 2243 to be eligible for a mixed-income apartment development.
The proposal is in a preliminary stage and might be altered before a more extensive review process gets underway within the Planning Department.
The residential development provides a new example of a local effort to convert an existing office site into housing.
Some high-profile office-to-housing conversion endeavors are proposed in downtown San Jose.
Additional wide-ranging housing conversions could sprout in other South Bay locations.