\u201cFor decades, researchers on this hilltop did work that helped make Silicon Valley what it is today,\u201d Blackstart Digital said. \u201cOur first goal is simply to put this campus back to work in a way that honors its legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The San Jose City Council in August voted 9-2 to rezone two sections of the campus, despite opposition from residents who demanded municipal leaders scrutinize plans for the property more rigorously.<\/p>\n
With the vote, the property was rezoned as an \u201cindustrial park zoning district\u201d and the surrounding empty land was designated an \u201copen space zoning district.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe campus has seven buildings containing more than 500,000 square feet within its 35-acre industrial-park area, buffered by 500-plus acres of open space we do not intend to develop,\u201d Blackstart Digital stated. \u201cWe have no intention or plan to develop the surrounding open space. Our team has local roots, and we know how much the trails and hillsides matter to this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The property became available after IBM decided to close the research hub, shift workers to its Silicon Valley Lab at 555 Bailey Road on the edges of Coyote Valley in San Jose, and put the Almaden property on the market. Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, has been marketing the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been a number of conversations regarding this property around the future use,\u201d San Jose Planning Director Christopher Burton told the City Council during the Aug. 18 council meeting. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a number of different groups that have inquired about different types of uses on this site.\u201d<\/p>\n
City officials during the meeting attempted to assure the public that the council\u2019s rezoning vote alone didn\u2019t suffice to approve a specific permit or permits for business activities or redevelopment at the site.<\/p>\n
However, Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, criticized the city\u2019s transparency with San Jose residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level of disconnect between what was presented during the rezoning process and what we are learning now is reprehensible,\u201d Staedler said. \u201cBefore anyone asks the public to trust the next review process, the city needs to explain how this happened and who knew what and when.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staedler was quick to note he isn\u2019t opposed to a reuse of an underutilized property.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, putting the existing IBM campus back to productive use makes sense,\u201d Staedler said. \u201cBut the public and the council deserved an honest description of what was actually being contemplated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Documents filed on June 2 with San Jose planners show Blackstart Digital filed for an environment review for the 650 Harry campus site with July 2028 as the target timeframe for a hearing date and possible decision.<\/p>\n
Blackstart Digital envisions several citywide benefits, including construction jobs for renovation work and long-term skilled positions in research and incubator centers. A functioning research center also could generate business for local shops, restaurants, hotels and service providers, as well as produce additional tax revenue for the city.<\/p>\n
Blackstart Digital said the tech hub could accommodate an array of future uses, including advanced research and development, startup incubators and academic partnerships, and quantum computing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is uniquely and beautifully designed, and we plan to keep the existing buildings in their current form,\u201d Blackstart Digital stated.<\/p>\n
The campus currently contains multiple generations of existing data center facilities. A 25-megawatt power station installed by IBM already exists on the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe intend to expand capacity, subject to power availability,\u201d Blackstart Digital stated.<\/p>\n
The company said the campus can be sustainable and green, with closed-loop cooling and advanced battery safety systems. Blackstart Digital aims to use \u201csmart-grid software\u201d that can shave energy use at peak demand times.<\/p>\n
Any specific proposals would undergo a full review, as appropriate, under the state\u2019s Environmental Quality Act rules, or CEQA, the company said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs ideas take shape, we will work through a full public process with the city of San Jose, neighbors, community leaders, conservation groups and open-space organizations,\u201d Blackstart Digital stated.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SJM-L-SJSIBMDATAHUB-2.jpg\")
Former IBM Almaden Research Center at 650 Harry Road in San Jose, seen on Sept. 16, 2026 (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SJM-L-SJSIBMDATAHUB-6.jpg\")
Seven-building tech hub at the IBM Almaden Research Center at 650 Harry Road in south San Jose, seen on Sept. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SJM-L-SJSIBMDATAHUB-4.jpg\")
Tech buildings at the former IBM Almaden Research Center at 650 Harry Road in south San Jose, seen on Sept. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 An affiliate of Blackstart Digital is looking to put the former IBM campus in San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[54395,2080,184,387,7,8,3010,1335,383,1286,1533,181,100,182,388,88,90,89,5406,198,94685,200,201,1970],"class_list":["post-479793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-almaden-valley","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-bay-area","tag-business","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-commercial-real-estate","tag-development","tag-economy","tag-jobs","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-news","tag-pm-report","tag-real-estate","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-real-estate","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-social-alert","tag-south-bay","tag-south-san-jose","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479793","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=479793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}