San Jose office tower conversion to housing project formally launches
SAN JOSE — A plan to convert a downtown San Jose office tower from offices to housing is officially underway with a formal permit application for the project, which could produce 100-plus homes.
The Bank of Italy historic tower would switch from offices to residences under a proposal from the high-rise’s owner, an alliance of Canada-based global developer Westbank and San Jose-based local developer Urban Community, which is headed up by real estate entrepreneur Gary Dillabough and Jeff Arrillaga.
Westbank filed the formal permit application on March 20 with the San Jose Planning Department, city public documents show.
In January, Dillabough estimated the conversion could produce “125 to 150” residences.
Offices on 11 of the tower’s 13 floors would be converted to residences.
The high-rise, built nearly a century ago in 1925, is located at 12 South First Street next to East Santa Clara Street.
When Westbank and Urban Community bought the tower in 2019, it was one of several sites the real estate allies purchased in downtown San Jose with the intent to dramatically transform the city’s urban core.
The original plan for the Bank of Italy was a top-to-bottom, floor-by-floor and inside-and-outside renovation and revamp of the 13-story tower, a downtown San Jose icon. The building is an example of Mediterranean Revival Beaux-Arts architectural style. The tower is a San Jose Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The goal of the revamp was to create a tower offering creative workplaces for small tech companies and startups. Each office would have been relatively small.
However, the coronavirus pandemic, business lockdowns, a sluggish return to the workplace, tech layoffs and a fast-shifting economy forced Westbank and Urban Community to consider alternative uses.
Housing units instead of small offices became the new plan.
The residences would be developed on floors two through 12, the proposed states.
The project envisions a residential area in the attic level of the tower, which is just below the landmark spire and cupola atop the Bank of Italy building.
Westbank and Urban Community are attempting the conversion of the tower to residential units at a time when the office market in the Bay Area suffers from an array of maladies.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the original plan was the installation of an exterior staircase that would spiral up the outside of the tower. That exterior staircase proposal no longer appears in the latest version of the project.
The full-fledged renovation and restoration of the tower — and its transformation into an eye-catching Bay Area landmark — remains firmly in the works, the planning documents suggest.
New garden areas and upgrades will be added to the tower property on the terraces adjacent to the building.
A restaurant with some outdoor dining and gathering areas is slated to be built on one of the terraces, the proposed states.
The project could likely require a few months to receive final approval from city officials. The timeline to begin and complete the actual construction and residential conversion work after approval wasn’t immediately clear.