SAN JOSE — The San Jose Armory, a historic downtown building that was constructed eight decades ago, has been bought by a group led by one of the busiest developers in the Bay Area’s largest city.

Gary Dillabough, an active downtown developer and realty investor who is studying an array of options to revive the old Armory with unique new uses, has struck a deal to purchase the building that’s located at 240 N. 2nd St. in San Jose.

“It’s a beautiful building,” Dillabough said. “It’s one of the prettiest buildings in downtown San Jose.”

Terms of the purchase weren’t disclosed.

“We really want to do something special with this building,” Dillabough said.

The construction of the San Jose Armory in 1933 was bankrolled through one of numerous federal grants that were issued during the Great Depression.

Completed in 1934, the building was one of the armories owned by the state’s California Army National Guard, according to a post on the Military Museum website.

The Military Museum site also stated the San Jose Armory is deemed to be a significant historic resource because of its association with World War II, its connections with the state-owned armories of the early 20th century and its architectural style.

“The armory is essentially a two-story assembly hall set behind a two-story office wing,” the Military Museum site stated. “The armory is constructed with board-formed concrete and has Spanish Revival stylistic details.”

During World War 2 and in other periods, the building was used for military drills.

A number of unique uses come to mind for the 19,000-square-foot building, Dillabough said.

“A theater, a museum, the best bookstore in the world, something that would be special,” Dillabough said. “It could be a school because it’s so close to St. James Park.”

A Bay Area property expert agreed that the future uses of the building will be anything but commonplace.

“It’s an unusual and unique site,” said Mark Ritchie, president of San Jose-based real estate firm Ritchie Commercial. “Just as an event space alone, the Armory has a lot of promise. It’s got some real beauty to it. A one-of-a-kind and interesting use will come along for it.”

In downtown San Jose, Dillabough’s property purchases and investments include wide-ranging renovations of the iconic and historic Bank of Italy office tower, a facelift for the old Bank of the West building, a redevelopment of the Museum Place office and retail site that will also expand The Tech, along with a dramatic project for the Lido Nightclub site, as well as a million-square-foot office and retail development at the Valley Title property near Second and San Carlos streets.

Dillabough’s investments have become sufficiently numerous that more than a few of them are clustered closely.

The Bank of Italy Building, Bank of the West, Fountain Alley sites, and Lido building are adjacent to each other or separated by only a few hundred feet in the area of First and Santa Clara streets; the Armory site is just around the corner from prior purchases by Dillabough led-groups at 152 N. Third St. and 227 N. First St.; and in the South First Area, or SoFA entertainment and dining district, Dillabough ventures are involved with the old Camera 12 site, the Jose Theatre and the Valley Title property.

“We have 17 properties in downtown San Jose,” Dillabough said, referring to the number of sites purchased by his ventures.

Ritchie believes Dillabough’s investment efforts have far from run their course in downtown San Jose.

“People need to understand that what Gary and his partners are doing are not everyone’s cup of tea,” Ritchie said. “These are high-risk, high-expense ventures that would really not be happening without their risk capital. He is taking on a lot of difficult buildings.”

Still, Dillabough himself suggested that he might slow the pace of purchases by his various ventures. That’s because realty prices have risen in downtown San Jose.

Among the factors: Google has bought numerous properties near the Diridon train station; Adobe intends a dramatic expansion of its downtown headquarters campus. Large, medium-sized and small tech companies are opening offices or seeking expansion sites downtown; big developers such as Jay Paul, Boston Properties and TMG Partners have crafted development plans and property purchases.

Even so, Dillabough clearly has far-reaching hopes and dreams for the San Jose Armory complex.

“We want to create a great user experience in downtown San Jose, we want to do more than office projects,” Dillabough said.