SAN JOSE — Demolition work has begun on a “brutalist” building that occupies a key corner of the development site for a huge tech campus that’s planned in downtown San Jose.
The building, constructed in the 1970s, has been at the center of a legal battle launched by activists who sought to fend off the structure’s demolition and thwart the development of an office, retail, and restaurant campus on the downtown San Jose site.
On Nov. 1, however, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled against the Preservation Action Council of San Jose’s attempts to block the bulldozing of the brutalist structure.
Judge Sunil Kulkarni rejected a request by the preservation group that developer Jay Paul Co. delay the demolition of the “brutalist” building until the city could conduct another environmental impact report regarding the project.
“No delay is warranted,” the judge stated.
On Nov. 5, evidence of the start of demolition work had become visible on and next to the old building, a direct observation by this news organization showed.
Holes had been knocked into a vertical section of the building. Pieces of the roofline of the structure had been torn off. Piles of dirt and concrete blocks and rubble could be seen on the side of the building. At least two large machines used for demolition work were visible on the site.
The petition brought by the preservationist group claimed that the San Jose City Council conducted a flawed environmental review process of a plan by real estate company Jay Paul to develop a modern office campus on the Cityview Plaza site.
Preservation Action Council sought to block the development — and rescue the former Bank of California building — until the city could conduct a further environmental review.
The judge disagreed and cleared the way for the project to proceed.
Jay Paul Co. envisions the development as an iconic addition to downtown San Jose’s modest skyline.
Once complete, CityView Plaza is expected to total 3.6 million square feet and feature a trio of 19-story office towers, along with 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, according to city documents.
The CityView development site is bounded by Park Avenue, Almaden Boulevard, West San Fernando Street, and South Market Street.
The preservation group had suggested that it might be possible to retain the brutalist building and still construct most of the proposed campus. The judge disagreed.“Substantial evidence supports the city’s finding that keeping the (bank) building is infeasible, in light of technical and economic considerations,” Kulkarni stated in his ruling.
The demolition work within days of the court ruling could portend a brisk pace to launch construction of the vast CityView redevelopment endeavor, in the view of Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.
The court litigation, launched in September 2020, lasted about 13 months up to the point of the judge’s decision.
“Jay Paul has the opportunity to get back on track with the court ruling,” Staedler said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the demolition expedited to make up some lost time.”
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