Urban Catalyst is preparing for vertical construction on Keystone, their extended-stay hotel at 495 West San Carlos Street in San Jose by Diridon Station. The eight-story Marriott TowneSuites Hotel is the only of its type under construction in the city, responding to demand from the city’s construction industry, conferences, and concerts. Completion is expected by 2025.
Even while plans for Google’s Downtown West have been pushed back and Lendlease scales down, Urban Catalyst sees plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the need for this project. For the announcement press release, Urban Catalyst Founder Erik Hayden said, “even in the face of tough economic times, like right now, we’re still able to move forward.”
Keystone groundbreaking event, image courtesy Urban Catalyst
Writing with YIMBY, a representative for the firm told us that “Our answer to the “why we’re doing this now” question is the demand for extended-stay hotels in our market has finally returned to its pre-Covid peak.” The project received $48 million for construction financing from Poppy Bank earlier this month.
The 84-foot project, which sits on a lot of 26,240 square feet, will end up providing 120,000 square feet, excluding parking. Its three floors of the parking garage, with space for 117 vehicles, could span up to 78,000 square feet. Vehicular access will be along Josefa Street.
Front Massing of 495 West San Carlos Street, design by Studio Current
Once complete, the Marriott will offer 176 rooms. Each unit will span between 370 to 830 square feet, with a full kitchenette. Additional amenities will include an exercise room, small meeting rooms, and a breakfast dining hall. A mid-building courtyard on the fourth floor will include a small pathway through landscaping. The eighth-floor indoor-outdoor lounge will offer a bar and barbeque pit for work and informal meetings.
BDE Architects is responsible for the design. The articulated exterior will be clad with fiber cement, stucco, and wood-look panels. Floor-to-ceiling glass will help open up the ground-level amenities and lobby.
4th floor courtyard at 495 West San Carlos Street
District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres shared for the project’s groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month, “Team San Jose said, ‘Help us build these hotel rooms, and we’ll make it work.’ We need our civic auditorium to be packed every weekend with conferences and concerts. I pledged to do that, so thank you very much for investing in our downtown.”
Urban Catalyst launched in 2018 as an Opportunity Zone Fund focused on building new additions to the San Jose built environment. The firm has quickly established itself as the most active such fund in the city by project count, working on eight projects work around $1.5 billion.
The hotel is just one of three projects by the developer along the same block. The plans, in the thick of the Diridon Station masterplan, include a senior living facility and an apartment complex. YIMBY has previously reported on the complete demolition for Gifford Place Senior Living.
Keystone demolition work, image via Urban Catalyst
At the end of last year, Urban Calayst secured approval for the Icon-Echo Towers in Downtown San Jose. The firm also oversees construction work at the former Camera 12 theater as the site becomes a 75,000-square-foot retail hub dubbed Paseo. Additional projects by the developer include The Mark at 475 South 4th Street and Apollo at 32 Stockton Avenue.
Keystone is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2025. Writing with YIMBY, the developer expects that most, if not all, projects will see groundbreaking occur before 2026.
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I will shed a tear when this hideous architectural style finally goes out of fashion.
San José has a clean slate to create beautiful and inventive architecture downtown. Certainly there are architects eager to design such a new hotel that doesn’t look like a seniors’ assisted living center.