Mixed Use Hotel, Condo Development Set To Break Ground In San Jose
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- A new type of building development is coming to downtown San Jose that will combine a hotel with residential condos.
"It's completely new for San Jose. San Jose has never had a hotel and a residential property all on the same lot ever. So it's kind of an exciting opportunity," said David Contreras, a San Jose realtor specializing in the city's growing high-rise market.
What's now a just a dirt parking lot bordered by old industrial buildings and walls covered with graffiti
will soon be a new building combining 303 hotel rooms topped off with 19 residential condominium homes.
The project, which will be branded as a Courtyard and as a Residence Inn, was just approved by the city council.
Contreras says mixed use buildings are growing in popularity in large cities like New York and Los Angeles and appeal to a certain kind of buyer.
"It's a little more high-end, looking to have maid service, concierge service, wanting to have those swimming pools and hot tubs," he said.
The Stockton/West Julian area where the project will soon break ground is already a hot neighborhood, with
several buildings just completed, almost finished or about to break ground.
"Many industrial sites, empty parking lots are now being redeveloped for housing, for hotels, for office," said Mayor Sam Liccardo. He says the area is being transformed.
"What we're going to see in five years will look nothing like it looks now," he said.
The anchor spot for developers is the Diridon train station. It is the same area where Google is buying up land
for a future campus and where other developers from Europe, Asia and Canada are bidding on properties in all directions.
"The traditional way to build is put housing over here, offices over here and shopping over there. This idea behind this part of San Jose is to integrate those uses so everything is within walking distance," Liccardo said.
Buyers will have a lot to choose from. Another building which is about to break ground on Carlysle Street will combine high rise residential with office space.
"A lot of changes are happening in this part of downtown and it's an exciting time to be here," Contreras said.
