Big office tower poised to be a new gateway to San Jose

SAN JOSE — A big office tower featuring an urban plaza, a rooftop terrace, and a sky port for air taxis is being proposed as a gateway to downtown San Jose, to be built on a property owned by a legendary Silicon Valley developer.

Davidson Plaza Tower, a 14-story high rise, would be built near the corner of West Julian Street and Terraine Street in downtown San Jose.

A partnership consisting of Urban Community real estate executives Gary Dillabough and Jeff Arrillaga, and Terrascape Ventures developers Tony Arreola and Mark Lazzarini has been formed to develop the proposed office tower. The sleek complex is planned for the site of the existing Charles Davidson Building.

“It’s a risky business and I’m glad Gary and his partners are willing to take on the challenge like I did many years ago,” said Charles Davidson, who in 1985 developed the building that now occupies the site.

Perched along Highway 87 and near some busy ramps connecting to the freeway, the property is in a choice spot.

“This is such a gateway site, such great visibility, it will be iconic,” Lazzarini said. “An employer and employees will appreciate this building’s design, location, and visibility.”

Under the new proposal, the office building would total 850,000 square feet and offer unique features catering to a tech workforce.

Renowned architectural firm Arquitectonica, whose famous projects include the Pink House in Miami, the redevelopment of Coney Island in Brooklyn, and the Infinity Towers in San Francisco, designed the proposed Davidson Plaza Tower.

Features of the proposed Arquitectonica-designed office building include an urban plaza, large floor plates, indoor atriums, outdoor terraces, a sky garden, and a rooftop multipurpose space that could accommodate banquets or a restaurant.

“There will be a dynamic design, elegant, forward-looking and forward-thinking,” Dillabough said. “It will complement the downtown San Jose skyline.”

The atriums will be designed and oriented to enable a considerable amount of natural light to permeate the complex. And the rooftop area is expected to accommodate air taxis to carry people, as well as drone deliveries of packages.

“The Sky Garden is a unique amenity to be enjoyed by tenants as well as being a destination location for the community,” said Tony Arreola, the Terrascape executive.

For decades, the Davidson building served as one of the original gateways to beckon visitors into the downtown. Davidson himself is an accomplished residential developer and civil engineer, as well as the namesake of The Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering at San Jose State University, which was bolstered by a $15 million donation from the developer.

“We really appreciate Mr. Davidson giving us the opportunity to take this on,” Dillabough said. “Without him, this wouldn’t be happening. Tony, Mark, Jeff and I have been working the last two years and making sure this can get built in the near future.”

“We think San Jose can become what it deserves to be, one of the best cities in the country with a great downtown,” he added.

Davidson has agreed to sell the property to the Urban Community and Terrascape venture, although Davidson isn’t involved in the development of the new tower. The project must still gain approval from San Jose city planners and officials.

A burst of construction activity, as well as a wide array of plans for development, are underway in downtown San Jose.

Google is planning a transit-oriented community of office buildings, houses, hotel spaces, cultural amenities, entertainment centers, shops, and restaurants near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.

Adobe is months along in the construction of a gleaming new office tower that would bring about a dramatic expansion of the tech titan’s downtown three-building headquarters campus.

Jay Paul Co., Sobrato Organization, and Boston Properties, three of the Bay Area’s most successful developers, are in varying stages of development — or construction — on major office complexes.

“San Jose is an exciting place and our city leaders have done a great job in creating a friendly business environment,” Arrillaga, said.

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