SAN JOSE — A speakeasy is headed for an empty tower in downtown San Jose, a unique and lively bar that the highrise’s owner hopes will spur a revival of a moribund section of the city’s urban core.
The bar is being planned on the basement level of 2 West Santa Clara Street in San Jose, a currently empty office tower that is owned by an affiliate of DivcoWest, a veteran Bay Area real estate firm.
Drinks and an array of other activities are among the anticipated features of the establishment, which is being called 2 West Speakeasy, according to documents on file with San Jose city officials.
“The 2 West Speakeasy is a public drinking establishment located in the heart of downtown San Jose,” the city planning documents state. “The venue will operate as a speakeasy bar with occasional live music and DJs, and host private events.”
DivcoWest, through an affiliate, paid $14.4 million for the 10-story tower in 2017. The real estate firm then launched a wide-ranging renovation of the building. The tower has yet to attract a tenant.
This tower, however, is far from the only empty office hub at the corner of Santa Clara Street and First Street in downtown San Jose.
The Bank of Italy historic tower at 12 South First Street, owned by global mega-developer Westbank, is empty. An office building at 1 West Santa Clara Street, owned by Jay Paul Co., one of the Bay Area’s most successful and savvy developers, is vacant. An office building at 2 North First Street, bought in recent years by a Los Gatos-based investor, suffers high vacancy levels.
Bottom line: The intersection of First and Santa Clara streets, which in a long-gone era was the lively heart of downtown San Jose — before suburban malls siphoned off the city’s retail base — has deteriorated into a desolate quartet of corners.
A tricky downtown economy, the coronavirus outbreak and the flight of office workers due to government-imposed lockdowns to combat the deadly bug, have coalesced to defy even the efforts of the trio of top-notch developers.
Now, DivcoWest hopes the proposed speakeasy can help put the forlorn intersection back on track to a hopeful future.
Patrons are expected to enter the speakeasy through the main entrance on West Santa Clara Street.
“The 2 West Speakeasy will be open until 2 a.m., seven days per week,” the city documents stated. “The venue will operate as a standard bar during open hours.”
The establishment is legally allowed to open as early as 6 a.m. but likely won’t open until sometime in the early afternoon.
“The venue will offer a variety of live music and live performances, ranging from jazz to DJs,” the city documents stated.
The speakeasy would total roughly 6,500 square feet, according to the development proposal, which the City Council approved on Oct. 17.
This proposal arrives at a time when DivcoWest has signaled to San Jose officials that it is considering a wide-ranging transformation and conversion of the office tower. DivcoWest is pondering potential residential, co-living, or hotel rooms to replace the office spaces.
Here are the primary options that DivcoWest is considering for the Two West Santa Clara office tower:
— An apartment version that would feature 65 residences and ground-floor retail right at the street corner that for numerous years was the site of a Walgreens pharmacy store until it closed in 2018.
— A co-living option that would consist of 73 residential units and ground-floor retail.
— A “micro hotel” version with 147 rooms and ground-floor retail.
DivcoWest believes the speakeasy would offer at least three features to benefit the downtown, according to a letter submitted by company consultant Erik Schoennauer on Oct. 12 to San Jose government officials, including the mayor and the rest of the City Council.
The speakeasy offers a unique new place for downtown San Jose, according to the email from the consultant.
“Locals and visitors alike seek out unique and hidden bars in urban neighborhoods for fun and social times,” Schoennauer wrote in the email to city officials. “This proposal will add to downtown’s existing attractions.”
The basement bar could add pedestrian activity to a “depressed” section of the downtown, the letter states.
“This new lounge will create a reason for people to walk to this block of downtown, helping to activate the streets again, especially in the evening or after dark,” Schoennauer wrote in the email.
The new basement bar might help entice tenants to take space in the 2 West Santa Clara tower.
“This speakeasy lounge in the basement is part of the owner’s strategy to reactivate the building and find tenants,” Schoennauer wrote in the email. “The hope is that the lounge will be a desirable amenity and will promote positive pedestrian activity to make the block feel more safe and pleasant.”