SAN JOSE \u2014 A San Jose apartment project linked to the city\u2019s purchase of a downtown historic building has landed final city approval despite concerns raised by some neighbors and a union-backed group.<\/p>\n
The project would produce 276 apartments<\/a> at 470 West San Carlos St. in downtown San Jose. The City Council approved the development on Oct. 20 through a 10-0 vote.<\/p>\n The vote upheld a previous decision by San Jose city planners to approve the proposed eight-story project. The decision also rejected an appeal of that prior ruling by the municipality\u2019s planning staff administrators.<\/p>\n Stakeholders + Neighborhoods Initiative, a group formed by some residents who live near the development site, led the opposition to the apartment project, which is known as The Gifford.<\/p>\n Kathy Sutherland, president of Stakeholders + Neighborhoods, says her group is worried about the project\u2019s design and how well it would mesh with the area.<\/p>\n \u201cUrban Catalyst proposes an eight-story building that, by the city\u2019s own analysis, is \u2018a building with no setbacks\u2019 at the shared property line with our homes,\u201d Stakeholders + Neighborhoods wrote in a letter earlier this year.<\/p>\n Stakeholders + Neighborhoods Initiative said typical design guidelines in downtown areas near the Diridon train station require projects to have a step-back arrangement so they don\u2019t loom over existing homes.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s precise height was a topic of debate at the meeting. Urban Catalyst, the developer, states that the apartment complex is expected to be 84 feet and 10 inches high.<\/p>\n A union-backed group suggested at the hearing that under some scenarios, the project might actually exceed 85 feet by about an inch or so and should require union workers as the builders.<\/p>\n Certain State of California and City of San Jose rules crafted to streamline housing production<\/a> oblige a developer to employ unionized construction workers when a project is 85 feet or higher.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s final approval was completed in the wake of the city of San Jose\u2019s purchase of a historic downtown property<\/a> at 26 through 36 South First St. that\u2019s known as the Knox Goodrich Building.<\/p>\n