SAN JOSE — A prime San Jose location where a big office, retail and fitness hub is proposed is now being eyed by a veteran residential developer, in a hint that shifts are in the works for the property.
The site in question is 3896 Stevens Creek Boulevard in San Jose, which is a short distance from the mega hubs of Westfield Valley Fair and Santana Row.
An office complex, retail spaces and a fitness center were slated to be developed on that site, according to a proposal that real estate firm Cypress Equities had floated.
Cypress Equities sought to build an office building totaling 280,000 square foot and ground-floor retail spaces totaling 15,000 square feet. On the same site, it was expected that a 120,000-square-foot Life Time Athletic Resort would have been a fitness co-anchor.
The proposal seemed like a sure bet at the time, around 2020 and 2021. Tech companies were still expanding in a big way. The tech sector hungered for huge chunks of office space and even land.
But around 2022, tech companies suddenly halted their quest for new expansion sites. They began to slash jobs and shrink their corporate footprints.
Making matters worse, soaring inflation triggered sky-high interest rates. This forbidding combination unleashed costly real estate loans and big jumps in the cost of materials and labor to build projects.
The mixed-use development at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Saratoga Avenue has yet to break ground. Two restaurants, Hokkaido Buffet and Tacos Santiaguito, are the primary businesses operating on the property.
Cypress Equities has struck a deal to sell its interest in the property to a unit of Texas-based Holland Partner Group, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.
Dallas-based Holland Partner Group and Cypress Equity have crafted a contract whereby Holland Partner would purchase a ground lease to own the 4.7-acre site, the county records show.
Holland Partner Group is a real estate firm that’s developed or bought 40,000 residential units since the company’s founding in 2001.
“Our goal is to create sustainable, socially connected places where people work, live, and enjoy life,” the company states on its website.
Holland Partner Group also seeks to find ways to make residential properties more affordable, according to information on the firm’s online site.
“Our communities must provide value to society and help solve the housing crisis in our nation,” Holland states on its website. “We must actively support policies that enable housing to become more affordable to renters. We must concentrate on building housing near job centers and promoting walkability.”