\u201cI think it was a win-win, because the original proposal was for significantly more housing in a relatively small area,\u201d Saratoga Mayor Chuck Page told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe roads aren\u2019t built to accommodate that kind of traffic \u2026 (The current project) is much more befitting of the neighborhood and, while it may not be ideal in the eyes of everyone, to me it makes a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Saratoga City Council approved the project on May 6.<\/p>\n
The saga began when the Bellicitti family, which owned the vineyard for more than a century, decided to sell.<\/p>\n
Thomas J. Wilson of City Connect and his partners got an option to purchase the site on Chester Avenue at Allendale Avenue. They tapped the state builder\u2019s remedy law<\/a>, which allows developers to bypass local restrictions when a city is failing to meet its housing goals, to propose the high-density 231-home plan.<\/p>\n \u201cI became Public Enemy No. 1,\u201d Wilson, who was born in Saratoga, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cNeighbors (of the vineyard) found out where I lived (in San Jose\u2019s Willow Glen). They found out where my kids go to school, at the middle school and the elementary school. They put signs up about me at both my kids\u2019 schools with my personal cell phone number (saying) I was going to destroy Willow Glen. They also had (signs) all up throughout Saratoga, and it wasn\u2019t just on one occasion. It was several occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n James Atwell has lived on a hill above the vineyard for 35 years and\u00a0 is part of an informal group of about eight residents who fought the plan.<\/p>\n He and another neighbor \u2014 Bernie Mills \u2014 decided to take a chance on talking to Wilson to see if there could be a compromise. An initial get-together at a local Starbucks in late 2024 was followed by several more meetings, culminating in Wilson agreeing last year to a much smaller 64-home project, now called Vineyard One. But some in the group still pushed back.<\/p>\n \u201cFinally, Bernie and I just put it to the neighborhood, \u2018Do you want to support Tom with 52 homes here, or do you guys want to keep fighting?\u2019 We got unanimous support,\u201d Atwell told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Wilson, who got an option to purchase the land in June 2023, bought the parcel in June 2025 for $31 million. He said the phone was ringing off the hook earlier this year with offers from major builders to buy the yet-to-be-started project.<\/p>\n On July 3, City Connect announced it was selling Vineyard One to Lennar Corp., a nationwide homebuilder, for $110 million \u2014\u00a0 giving Wilson and his partners a profit of $79 million before the cost of entitlement, design and legal fees.<\/p>\n \u201cDid we sell (to Lennar) for what we could have sold it at 231 units? Heck no. That number was much larger, but that\u2019s OK. We\u2019re not in it to squeeze every dollar out,\u201d Wilson told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe want to build and develop and entitle really good projects that work. I really attribute (this to) the calm, cool and collected community members that reached out to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson singled out Atwell as the neighbor most influential in forging a compromise.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say (the process) worked even better than it was supposed to, because we could have had a developer give us the middle finger and I\u2019m not sure we could have done anything,\u201d Atwell\u00a0told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Wilson said the 52 single-family homes are likely to sell in the $4 million range, with Lennar expected to start construction soon.<\/p>\n \u201cOur neighborhood is divided on the outcome, but we\u2019ve made significant progress to reach this point,\u201d Jerry Schaaf, who lives across from the vineyard, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe anticipate that Lennar will deliver a high-quality development that aligns with our neighborhood\u2019s expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Saratoga-2-1024x769.jpg\")
Nearby homes had signs protesting a proposed development. The residents worked with the developer to reduce the project\u2019s size. File photo.<\/p>\n
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