SAN JOSE — A big apartment complex in east San Jose that could produce hundreds of residences has taken a big step forward now that the developer has landed a construction loan to build the project. The housing development would be located at 905 and 907 North Capitol Avenue near the interchange of Interstate 680 and Berryessa Avenue in San Jose, according to Santa Clara County property documents. Hanover Co., a veteran real estate company, owns the project site and is developing an apartment complex with 345 residential units, documents filed on March 20 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show. The apartments will consist of 328 market-rate units and 17 affordable housing units, the public real estate documents state. Citizens Bank provided Hanover Co. with a construction loan totaling $87.4 million, according to the property, records. A prior decision by San Jose officials to reduce development fees in the city has helped bolster efforts to produce housing in the municipality, including the North Capitol project. “With the City Council action to reduce fees, the financing is secured and construction is beginning this week,” said Scott Youdall, regional development partner for the West Coast with Hanover. Texas-based Hanover Co. is building the apartments next to 32 townhomes that Trumark Homes is developing. The apartment building is slated to be seven stories along with an underground parking area, documents on file with San Jose city planners show. The ground floor is expected to include about 2,900 square feet of commercial and office spaces, according to the city planning files. A leasing office totaling 500 square feet is also proposed. The precise timeline for the project’s completion wasn’t immediately known. The Schoennauer Co., a land-use and planning consultancy, helped to steer the project through the San Jose development review process. The project is expected to require the demolition of a single-family home, barn and greenhouse to clear the way for the project, according to city public records. The site is down the street from the Penitencia Creek light rail stop on North Capitol Avenue and is a two-mile drive from the Berryessa BART station. “A clubroom, courtyards, pool deck and a fitness center” are listed among the amenities for the project, according to the city planning documents.

SAN JOSE – By the end of April, Signia by Hilton San Jose may receive the funding it needs to avoid a loan foreclosure, a revamp in view as the hotel enjoys a major financial upswing. A Santa Clara County court case and lawsuit could determine the landmark lodging tower’s fate and future ownership. The hotel, located at 170 South Market St., has loan commitments in the form of two “term sheets” that detail plans for new lenders to refinance its funding, according to documents on file with Santa Clara County Superior Court. Sam Hirbod, the principal executive of the hotel’s ownership group, sketched out in a court filing the hotel’s prospects for a completed refinancing. The 541-room Signia by Hilton is San Jose’s largest hotel. “Two new lenders are very eager to take over financing of the hotel,” Hirbod stated in papers filed with the Santa Clara County court. “The lenders are expecting to close refinancing in mid-April.” Bridge Investment Group and Nexpoint have agreed to provide the hotel property with a refinancing of its mortgage. “We look forward to working with you on this transaction,” Jeehae Lee, manager of Bridge Debt Strategies Fund, wrote in a March 10 letter detailing Bridge’s term sheet. The Bridge and Nexpoint loans would pay off the existing property mortgage held by Brightspire Investment Group. “BrightSpire will be paid 100% of the money it is due under the loan agreements,” Hirbod stated in the court filing on March 13. For several months, Brightspire has been attempting to foreclose on a small portion of a $136 million loan that it provided to the hotel property, according to court and real estate public documents. Brightspire aims to seize ownership of the hotel through foreclosure proceedings, court documents state. In 2018, Hirbod’s ownership group paid $223.5 million for what was at that time an 805-room hotel with two towers. That price worked out to about $278,000 a room. Hirbod stated in court filings that he has invested $170 million into the hotel. That investment includes a $90 million down payment to buy the hotel in 2018, $26 million in interest payments to the lender while the hotel was closed during COVID-linked shutdowns and $54 million to renovate the hotel in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Hirbod took steps to further stabilize the hotel’s finances through the sale of the 264-room southern tower. Throckmorton Partners paid $73.1 million to buy the tower and convert it into housing for San Jose State University students. The southern tower is now known as Spartan Village on the Paseo. Hirbod used the $73.1 million to pay down the amount of the Brightspire loan. The Signia by Hilton is now riding a wave of increased bookings for conventions, events and guests, according to Hirbod. “The hotel is thriving,” Hirbod stated in the filing. In October 2024, the appraised value of the Signia by Hilton was $240 million. “While so many business owners in San Jose walked away from their businesses during COVID — leaving their buildings hollow shells and boarded up storefronts on the streets of San Jose — I doubled down during COVID,” Hirbod stated in the court filing. Hirbod said his efforts have fueled a turnaround for the hotel. “l knew that the hotel would emerge from COVID stronger than ever,” Hirbod stated. “In the process, I greatly improved the value and stature of this iconic city of San Jose landmark.”

DA’s office says it will have to see specifics before deciding whether it would prosecute ‘Responsibility to Shelter’ cases 

Rajul Jain and Vivek Shivhare had been home searching for a few months when they found the perfect place in the hills above San Jose — a three-bedroom, three-bathroom ranch that would provide enough room for them and their teenager daughter. It was listed for $1.68 million — within their initial $1.8 million budget. They put in an offer $70,000 over asking, hoping it would be enough to acquire the house. Instead, they encountered a familiar Bay Area home-buying experience: a bidding war.  The sellers had two other offers, and the couple hadn’t come in on top. They raised their offer to $1.8 million, then to $1.82 million. Finally, their offer reached $1.86 million — $180,000 over asking. It was enough to win the house.

SAN JOSE — Under a proposal by the mayor, the municipal government could seize ownership of the abandoned First Church of Christ, Scientist building, a historic downtown site that has become one of the city’s most blighted properties.  China-based Z&L Properties, acting through an affiliate, owns the property at 43 East St. James St. The real estate firm had promised to restore and preserve the old church and develop two housing towers next to it.