realestate

Caltrain Clears Hurdle for Diridon Station Offices in San Jose

Caltrain wins approval for 2 new 16-story offices in Downtown San Jose amidst high office vacancy rates.

C
altrain has secured approval to build a 1.2 million-square-foot development at 35-91 South Montgomery Street in Downtown San Jose, adjacent to Diridon Station. The project will replace a parking lot and feature two 16-story office towers with ground-floor shops and restaurants. Despite the current high office vacancy rate in San Jose, which has crept past 30 percent, Caltrain's Director of Real Estate and Transit-Oriented Development Nadine Fogarty remains optimistic about the site's potential.

    The development will be a mixed-use complex with multiple terraces for gathering spaces and is designed by Perkins&Will and Arup. The agency plans to issue a competitive request for proposal to select a developer, but the date of the RFP is uncertain due to market conditions.

    Caltrain's project comes as Google's Downtown West plan, which includes 4,000 homes, 7.3 million square feet of offices, and 15 acres of parks, remains stalled. However, Google may restart its plans with an affordable housing project at 720 West San Carlos Street. The office vacancy rate in the greater Silicon Valley market was a record 23 percent in the third quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Caltrain clears hurdle for Diridon Station offices in San Jose.