In a move that could reshape redevelopment plans at the Cambrian Park Plaza, the developer that bought the 17-acre shopping center last year for $49 million sent a letter dated Feb. 23 asking San Jose city officials to consider modifying their urban village policies for signature projects.

According to Texas-based developer Weingarten Realty, the proposed design would underutilize the property, and there might not be a strong enough market for the amount of planned commercial space. Instead, Weingarten would like to see a lower-density project with more diversity.

“After completing a thorough marketing assessment, [Weingarten] is confident there is a strong demand for the mix of uses at the density range proposed, but that the property cannot support more intense retail development,” the company wrote.

Instead of a retail-only redevelopment, Weingarten envisions a mix of tenants, including 140,000 square feet of retail space–30,000 less than currently planned–90,000 square feet of assisted living, community gathering areas and approximately 220 apartments and townhomes for rent and sale.

Weingarten wrote that this type of redevelopment would trigger annexation of the property, which benefit the city by bringing in more money from tenants. The developer said such a design would be “responsive to community concerns” while maximizing sales and property tax revenue for the city.

“They’re trying to make the point that their proposal would result in annexation and that would be beneficial to the city,” said city planner Michael Brilliot.

However, Brilliot said the city is wary of converting more commercially zoned land to housing and has talked with Weingarten since receiving the letter about the feasibility of supporting the original plan.

“We’re looking at how we can preserve employment land because the city has an incredible history of converting commercial land for residential,” Brilliot said. “[We have] to be cautious and mindful of when we allow to convert commercial to residential. We still want to see a significant amount of commercial development on this site and….that’s the kind of conversation that we’re having with them.”

The city council is expected to vote on the current project design in the fall.

Julia Baum can be reached at jbaum@community-newspapers.com.