Housing tower slated to sprout near San Jose train station

SAN JOSE — A new residential tower is in the works for a vacant field next to the Tamien train station south of downtown San Jose, now that the developers have bought the land they need for the project.

Republic Urban and Swenson, the project’s developers, have bought an empty lot where they intend to build a 120-unit, 10-story residential project that will rise next to the identical Skyline at Tamien apartment complex.

“We think the market is very ripe for this type of product,” said Michael Van Every, president of Republic Urban. “Home ownership is really needed in the region.”

Acting through an affiliate, GR Tamien, the developers paid $2.8 million on June 15 for about 1.2 acres of land on Lick Avenue between West Alma Avenue and Floyd Street.

“We will probably break ground late in 2019,” said Konstantin Voronin, land acquisition director with Republic Urban.

San Jose city officials have already approved this phase of the development, which would be the twin of the first building. The current south tower of Skyline at Tamien fronts on Alma Avenue between Lick Avenue and the adjacent train tracks, with the freeway just a bit further west.

“The Skyline towers development is right next to transit,” Van Every said. “We think that’s something we are well-positioned to take advantage of.”

Republic Urban is bullish enough about the development potential in the area that it has proposed an even larger residential project a short distance north and also near the train station.

The adjacent and larger project would consist of 568 residential units and 3,000 square feet of retail, according to planning documents on file with the city of San Jose. Republic Urban and The Core Companies are co-developers of this nearby residential project, which would replace an existing surface parking lot for the transit station.

The Tamien station is just a few rail stops from downtown San Jose’s Diridon Station transit hub, which serves light rail, Caltrain, Amtrak, the ACE Train, Capitol Corridor line and buses. So that means residents of these projects could reach work and entertainment destinations in downtown San Jose and other cities just by hopping on one of the trains at Tamien.

Plus, more tech companies are eyeing downtown San Jose for future offices, or are actively planning expansions in the urban heart of the Bay Area’s largest city.

“You have Google, Adobe and other employers moving into the downtown, so the demand for housing is also going to increase,” Voronin said.

San Jose-based Adobe has proposed a major expansion of its downtown headquarters site that would add a fourth office tower next to the existing three-building campus.

Mountain View-based Google plans to develop a transit-oriented community of office buildings, residences, shops, restaurants and open spaces near the Diridon train station in downtown San Jose where 15,000 to 20,000 of its employees would eventually work.

“It’s probably a good time to diversify by building more projects with homes that are for sale,” Van Every said.

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