Caltrain Unveils 1.2M SF Mixed-Use Development in San Jose

Caltrain has unveiled plans for a 1.2M SF mixed-use development, including two new Class A office towers and more than 30K ST of ground-floor retail space, next to the Diridon train station in Downtown San Jose.

The project would be bordered by a plaza connecting it to Google’s massive 80-acre mixed-use campus, known as Downtown West.

Last month, Google obtained approval from the San Jose Planning Commission for the Downtown West development, which will build up to 6,000 residential units, 7.3M SF of office space and more than 500K SF of retail space.

Because of opposition from the Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commission—which voted down Google’s proposal as well as the city’s Diridon Station Area Plan—Google’s project will require a two-thirds vote of the San Jose City Council to override the commission’s veto.

The airport commission maintains that Google’s plan doesn’t conform to height and noise standards for buildings near Mineta San Jose International Airport.

The Downtown West Project also has drawn opposition from the San Jose Sharks, the NHL franchise that plays in a nearby SAP Center in South Bay. Warning that disruptions caused by construction of Google’s campus could force the team to leave San Jose, the Sharks have asked the city to double the available parking space for the arena, to 4,800 spaces.

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which oversees the Caltrain transit system in NoCal, wants the plaza between the Caltrain and Google mixed-use developments to serve as a public space “with iconic art features, a comfortable pedestrian environment and vibrant activities along the building frontages,” according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

Two glass-encased office towers, each standing 265 feet, will be located in a neighborhood bordered by West San Fernando Street, Cahill Street, Crandell Street and South Montgomery Street next to the train station.

Caltrain did not identify a developer for the project, which pending approvals could break ground in 2024 and be completed as early as 2026.

Google’s campus will include 15 acres of new Downtown parks as well as a new community center near the railroad stations. Google pledged to invest $200M in community benefits as part of the project, including a $150M donation to a new community fund that will finance grants aiming to preserve existing affordable housing in San Jose, boost services for homeless residents and provide support for low-income renters.

Google has pledged up to $1B to support the development of public infrastructure in the San Jose area. The tech giant also has offered to give the city four parcels of land to build 800 new affordable housing units and has agreed to pay $87M in commercial linkage fees to fund affordable housing.

When Google first unveiled its plans for the San Jose campus, which is about 15 miles east of the company’s Mountain View, CA headquarters, the company said it expected to have about 25,000 employees work at the new campus—a pre-pandemic projection that may be adjusted as the search engine leader re-evaluates its office footprint needs to reflect hybrid work patterns.