According to the Downtown Development division of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, site development permits have been granted and Kimball and Small Properties will now submit building construction documents in an effort to get the building permits necessary to begin the project.
"Our development agreement with Kimball and Small includes the building of quality office space and retail space," says Steve Duran, program manager, Downtown Development, San Jose Redevelopment Agency. "We sold them the property at fair market value and have not committed any funds to the project and have no financial interest in the project."
He adds that it's the job of the redevelopment agency to bring interesting building and architecture to the city. "It's our job to work with developers and architects alike to design buildings that offer interesting skylines," says Duran. "The buildings in the downtown area require different heights, the use of different materials and by using a variety of roof top treatments we can ensure a creative and interesting skyline."
Duran also says contrary to the belief of some, building height requirements are not that astringent in the city of San Jose. "The requirements depend on how close the project is to the airport and related flight path," said Duran. "Because of the airport we have to adhere to certain FAA restrictions because of communication issues and so we are limited as to how tall the buildings in that area are but it usually doesn't create problems."
The tallest building in the city is the city hall building which is more than 320 feet high, says Duran. "The city hall building is farther east from the flight path and airport and we can build higher buildings there," said Duran. "Downtown on the other hand is limited due to safety issues surrounding communications. Ultimately, height restrictions apply only to those building in the flight path."
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