100-plus homes might replace big office building on key San Jose site

SAN JOSE — More than 100 homes might replace a big office building on a prime San Jose site, according to a fresh version of a project proposal that envisions more housing than initially planned.

The project would be located at 2107 North First Street on a 3.9-acre site occupied by an office building and surface parking lot, documents on file with San Jose planners show.

The initial proposal for the property sketched out plans for a project of 85 townhomes.

The new plans call for the development of 105 townhomes.

The development site is located next to the corporate headquarters of tech titan PayPal and is in the vicinity of a number of tech job hubs in north San Jose.

The six-story office building that would be demolished to clear the way for the housing development totals 103,200 square feet.

A growing number of property owners and developers have begun to pitch plans of varying types to convert existing office properties into housing projects.

The brutal post-pandemic market for office buildings has prodded developers to seek alternatives to some commercial real estate properties.

In the wake of wide-ranging business shutdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus, office employees fled their workspaces in huge numbers.

Yet even after coronavirus-linked restrictions eased, the return to the office has proceeded at an uneven pace.

Tech companies have tempered their appetites for office space, which has muted demand and shoved office vacancies higher.

Along with reduced corporate footprints, tech companies have embarked on waves of job cuts that began in 2022 and have persisted to the present day.

Stanley Group, a local real estate firm, owns the property. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Stanley Group intends to undertake the development itself if the city approves the project.