Industrial mega-developer eyes Fry’s north San Jose site

SAN JOSE — The world’s largest developer of industrial real estate has taken a formal interest in the vast Fry’s Electronics property in north San Jose.

Prologis, a behemoth developer of industrial properties such as warehouse and logistics buildings, has taken an active interest in the choice Fry’s property, located on nearly 20 acres at 550 E. Brokaw Road near Interstate 880 in north San Jose.

The interest in the big Fry’s Electronics site in San Jose on the part of Prologis, which has $111 billion worth of properties under management, has come to light through multiple public documents on file at San Jose City Hall.

The 19.7-acre site is at the corner of East Brokaw Road and Junction Avenue and also has frontage alongside an onramp to Interstate 880.

The spacious property at 600 E. Brokaw Road contains a big Fry’s Electronics store with a Mayan theme, along with the corporate headquarters of the consumer electronics retailer, as well as the offices for a defunct Arena Football League team, the San Jose Sabercats.

The property owner, according to Santa Clara County documents, is Caracol Ltd., whose main offices are located at 600 E. Brokaw Road. David Fry, a Fry’s Electronics executive, is the general partner for Caracol, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.

Prologis is seeking to change the zoning for the property, San Jose city documents show.

The current zoning is “planned development zoning” and Prologis has filed an application to change the zoning to “combined industrial and commercial,” according to public documents.

“There are a lot of things that could be allowed with the new zoning,” said Alec Atienza, a San Jose city planner, when asked what sort of development could be pursued on the site were the city to approve a change to the combined commercial and industrial designation.

At some point in late 2019, Prologis met with city officials to make preliminary inquiries about the 19.7-acre site, city records show.

“Their question was only about existing parking requirements and if they could subdivide the existing lot,” John Tu, a San Jose city planner, said of the Prologis inquiries.

The lot is large enough that it could be possible to construct a new building on the property because a huge chunk of the site is devoted to a surface parking lot.

Fry’s declined to comment about the city meetings or the Prologis involvement in a potential redevelopment of the property. Prologis said it didn’t want to discuss the situation.

Prologis has taken an active interest in the choice north San Jose property at a challenging time for Fry’s.

Fry’s has been forced to confront widening challenges during a retail apocalypse that has drastically altered how people shop for an array of goods, including consumer electronics products.

The retailer recently shuttered its Palo Alto store. Fry’s says it intends to remain in business. However, the company’s store shelves have been sparsely stocked in recent months, including during the just-concluded Christmas shopping season.

Fry’s Electronics is a tenant at numerous store sites. However, through the Caracol Ltd. affiliate, the Fry’s family is the principal owner of the East Brokaw property in San Jose.

Related Articles Fry’s Electronics still hanging on, but for how long?

Fry’s to close its Palo Alto doors for good in January That ownership situation gives Fry’s executives more flexibility were they to choose to work with a big developer such as Prologis regarding future uses of the north San Jose site.

“Prologis hasn’t made any development proposals,” Atienza, the city planner said. “We don’t know what they want with the proposal to change the zoning.”

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