SAN JOSE — A big San Jose commercial complex with several merchants that include a furniture retailer, produce outlet and martial arts studio could be bulldozed to clear the way for a housing development.
More than 100 homes could be built on a San Jose site on South Fifth Street between Martha Street and Keyes Street, plans on file with city officials show.
1001-1065 South 5th Street in San Jose, a commercial complex shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)
San Jose Furniture Warehouse at 1065 South Fifth Street in San Jose. (Google Maps)
The development site has addresses ranging from 1000 through 1065 South Fifth Street as well as 190 Martha Street in San Jose, on a parcel a few miles from the city’s downtown district.
The development proposal envisions the construction of “158 for-sale townhomes,” a post on the San Jose City Planning Department website shows.
190 Martha Street in San Jose, part of a large commercial complex with frontage on South Fifth Street. The building is the site of the former can manufacturer. (Google Maps)
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The building might offer some historic interest, although the site wasn’t listed on a historical buildings register.
American Can Co., for several decades during the 20th Century, operated a major can manufacturing and warehouse center inside the building.
In 1944, during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that obliged American Can Co. and hundreds of other Bay Area companies to support the United States war effort through their products and services.
American Can Co. opened at the South Fifth Street and Martha Street site in 1912, according to a Wiki page entitled Packing Houses of Santa Clara County. The plant closed in the late 1980s, according to a 1990 article in the Los Angeles Times. The company’s sign is visible on the wall of a section of the commercial complex.
Merchants that operate within the building include San Jose Warehouse Furniture, C S Flooring Systems, Tone Freq Mastering Studios recording studio, Extra House Hockey Training Facility, Eddie’s Produce, El Monte Food Truck Manufacturing, CNH Doors and Aikido of San Jose martial arts.
Gambord Industries owns the property, documents on file with the Santa Clara County Assessor’s office show. The site’s real estate value was $1.7 million as of January 2023.
The city documents didn’t list the name of the developer behind the housing proposal.
