Construction is progressing forward for the El Paseo de Saratoga urban village project in San Jose. Demolition crews have cleared much of the former commercial stores that will soon be replaced by over seven hundred homes and a residential care facility. Sand Hill Property Company is leading the project, working in partnership with Holland Partners and Sunrise Senior Living.
Demolition crews are clearing surface parking and the big box stores on the western third of the El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center, around 1312 El Paseo de Saratoga. The low-slung office building at 1777 Saratoga Avenue is expected to be demolished as part of the master plan. San Jose approved the amended plans for El Paseo de Saratoga in December last year, cutting 325 units and significantly reducing the affordable housing capacity from the previously approved entitlements.
El Paseo de Saratoga demolition progress with Mount Hamilton looming in the background, image by author
El Paseo senior assisted living facility, rendering by Lantz Boggio Architects
Full build-out of the Urban Village will create 772 apartments, a 263-bed senior care facility, and a grocery store. The site will now include just 39 units of affordable housing, a significant decrease from previous iterations. In response to this, the South Bay activist group Catalyze SV said, “This decision is extremely disappointing. Our members strongly support building on-site, integrated, affordable housing.”
The tallest structure is expected to be 12 stories tall, containing 398 apartments and 14,140 square feet of retail. The second-tallest building will rise ten floors with 374 apartments and 17,450 square feet of ground-level retail. Opposite Saratoga Avenue, the El Paseo senior assisted living facility will rise seven floors. Building 3 will be a single-story grocery store to be occupied by Whole Foods. Landscaping and public courtyards will provide access to open space across the site, with pathways around each structure leading to a park along Quito Road.
El Paseo site map, illustration by Solomon Cordwell Buenz
El Paseo de Saratoga signage, image by author
El Paseo de Saratoga demolition progress, image by author
El Paseo redevelopment seen from the El Paseo shopping center surface parking lot, rendering by Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Lantz Boggio Architects are responsible for the design. The two larger apartments feature floor-to-ceiling windows articulated with white metal panels. The senior living facility will be designed by Lantz Boggio Architects with floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies, and brick veneer.
The roughly ten-acre property is located along Saratoga Avenue and the Lawrence Expressway, close to Westgate Center. Future residents will be about 45 minutes from the Sunnyvale Caltrain Station via bus.
El Paseo Whole Foods box store, rendering by Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Construction is expected to take nearly four years from groundbreaking to completion, though an estimate for groundbreaking has yet to be shared.
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To the folks in San Jose City Hall who are setting the per-acre density requirements. DO BETTER!!!
“….build-out of the Urban Village will create 772 apartments…the roughly ten-acre property is located along Saratoga Avenue and the Lawrence Expressway.”
Please start to advocate for the requirement of swapping underutilized parking lots and single-story buildings with high-density neighborhoods. This is a 10-acre parcel. Just Crazy!!
Urbanization is a great goal and I absolutely can’t stand single-story box stores + parking lots, but you also need to be realistic in this rapid transformation.
This site is only served by buses. Majority of folks aren’t going to be using the buses to get to jobs/activities/the city. Caltrain and BART corridors are where to maximize capacity. Without dedicated BRT or current expansion of transit, you’re going to lose many supporters in already hostile region to development as traffic becomes more burdensome.
Hate to be a Debbie downer, but you need gradual density. Going from single family to high rise is not a good look. Most cities that miss the middle and go straight up have their own host of issues.