{"id":253120,"date":"2026-04-05T18:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/253120\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T18:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:02:14","slug":"blighted-building-in-downtown-san-jose-faces-extra-city-scrutiny-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/253120\/","title":{"rendered":"Blighted building in downtown San Jose faces extra city scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 A site of blight in downtown San Jose<\/a> that was foreclosed due to a failed real estate loan now faces heightened scrutiny from city officials to ensure the property\u2019s problems are fully addressed and won\u2019t worsen.<\/p>\n

At one point, the property at 27 South First St.<\/a> was the focus of a plan to develop a 374-unit, 24-story housing tower. It never broke ground.<\/p>\n

\"2727 South First St., a commercial building in downtown San Jose, seen on April 2, 2026.\u00a0(George Avalos\/Bay Area News Group)
\n\"EntryEntry area of 27 South First St., a commercial building in downtown San Jose, seen on April 2, 2026. Contact information for a property management firm and a metal barrier inside the door are visible.\u00a0(George Avalos\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

RELATED: San Jose warns of blight woes at foreclosed downtown housing tower site<\/a><\/p>\n

The former owners of the property, Alterra Worldwide and real estate executives Tony Bader and Mike Sarimsakci, pursued conventional financing and other funding options for development.<\/p>\n

The site fell into neglect and became a blighted public nuisance. Despite being on the city\u2019s radar since 2022, San Jose officials failed to banish the existing building\u2019s blight.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the original lender for the property lost patience<\/a> with the prior owners and seized the current building at the site through a speedy foreclosure. San Mateo-based TDA Investment Group owns the property.<\/p>\n

TDA Investment is now responsible<\/a> for keeping the site free of blight. A city panel that oversees San Jose\u2019s code enforcement efforts recently held a hearing about issues there.<\/p>\n

Code enforcement staff stated that some improvements have emerged at the building on the property this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building showed visible changes to the property,\u201d minutes for the March 26 city meeting stated. \u201cThe new owners are working towards compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two decorative signs that tout multiple major sporting events now cover the formerly unsightly windows of the building at the property.<\/p>\n

A metal barricade is now visible behind the property\u2019s main entrance on South First Street, a barrier that could thwart unwelcome entries. A phone number for the property manager is posted at the entrance.<\/p>\n

Graffiti remains visible near the roofline of the commercial building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that the current owners are taking steps to address conditions at 27 South First Street,\u201d said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy. \u201cThat\u2019s a positive development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real problem, however, is San Jose\u2019s inability to swiftly deal with the difficulties at this and other blight sites, according to Staedler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis property has been on the city\u2019s radar since 2022 and still deteriorated to this level,\u201d Staedler said.<\/p>\n

The building had previously been a bustling hub for retail and shoppers.<\/p>\n

It was once occupied by an F.W. Woolworth Co. department store. More recently, Ross Dress for Less operated one of its discount apparel stores at the property. In 2016, Ross closed its doors.<\/p>\n

After Ross exited, the property became a pop-up enclave for local artists<\/a> operating through the Local Color organization.<\/p>\n

No long-term tenants have agreed to take space in the building, however.<\/p>\n

At the meeting in late March, San Jose\u2019s Appeals Hearing Board voted unanimously to place the property into the city\u2019s neglected vacant or abandoned building monitoring program. Increased fines and penalties could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n

City leaders should take stronger steps to deal with blight to bolster the fortunes of struggling downtown San Jose, Staedler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDowntowns improve when enforcement is consistent, predictable, and timely, not when action comes after years of decline,\u201d Staedler said. \u201cThat\u2019s the standard we should be focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 A site of blight in downtown San Jose that was foreclosed due to a failed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,387,7,3010,1335,4978,383,181,100,182,388,88,90,89,198,200,1970],"class_list":{"0":"post-253120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-commercial-real-estate","12":"tag-development","13":"tag-downtown-san-jose","14":"tag-economy","15":"tag-latest-headlines","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-pm-report","18":"tag-real-estate","19":"tag-san-jose","20":"tag-san-jose-headlines","21":"tag-san-jose-news","22":"tag-santa-clara-county","23":"tag-south-bay","24":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}