SAN JOSE — The owner of a downtown San Jose tower has obtained the money that’s needed to convert the iconic high-rise from office spaces to housing units.
The Bank of Italy building at 12 South First St. in San Jose has landed $74.1 million for a project to transform the office building into a residential tower, documents filed on May 13 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.
The Bank of Italy tower is visible as people walk along East Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose, April 6, 2026. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch is the lender for the office-to-housing endeavor, according to the real estate records.
Westbank, a real estate developer with a global reach, owns the century-old landmark through an affiliate and is leading the conversion project.
Workers walk through the interior of the Bank of Italy tower at 12 South First Street in downtown San Jose, April 6, 2026. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The conversion is expected to produce 109 rental apartments, a public filing by San Jose’s housing agency shows.
The 14-story building, built in a Renaissance Revival style, is situated so that tenants on the structure’s higher levels will be able to occupy residences with commanding views.
The funding from Deutsche Bank will be used for the interior conversion as well as a wide-ranging top-to-bottom facelift and refresh for the building’s exterior, according to a source with direct knowledge of the project.
The tower is being converted into a mixed-use building. The residences will be located on floors two through 12, the San Jose city filing with the County Recorder’s Office shows.
This work is getting underway in earnest roughly 100 years after the building was completed in 1926. The conversion is slated to be complete in 2027, the city filing shows. The project is expected to be completed during 2027.
Canada-based Westbank has completed considerable work inside the building in recent years ahead of these ultimate phases tied to the tower’s housing conversion and refresh.
If the tower’s owner can fill the building with tenants, the tower’s residents could help enliven this section of San Jose and increase the downtown’s vibrancy.