Earlier this year, Palladium backed out of a $1 billion redevelopment proposal due to the shaky economy and dot-com crash in Silicon Valley. The proposal included three million sf of new and redeveloped space in the Downtown area, which featured 390,000-sf of retail space, two office buildings with more than 700,000-sf, 220 condominiums, 630 apartments, a movie theater and a hotel.

The San Jose Redevelopment Agency recently replaced Palladium with CIM Group, giving the developer exclusive development rights on main Downtown areas. CIM Group is acting quickly to get its $165 million project up and running.

This proposal includes housing over street-level retail on three Downtown parking lots. CIM's plan will not completely transform the area, as Palladium proposed, but instead plans to add new buildings among the old. The plan calls for 120,000-sf of retail and restaurant space, along with about 460 apartment and condominiums. The redevelopment agency is expected to spend $35 million in the project.