SAN JOSE — A South Bay transit agency has ditched its quest to grab a downtown San Jose property near a future BART station after the proposed rail stop design shifted, court papers show.
The powerful Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has abruptly jettisoned its plan to seize ownership of the a parcel in downtown San Jose through an eminent domain proceeding, according to a legal filing.
In 2021, the VTA filed a lawsuit that detailed its plan to undertake a court-ordered purchase of a property with addresses of 29 and 31 East Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose.
The VTA has determined that it would abandon its attempt to buy the site through the eminent domain tactic, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
“Plaintiff Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority hereby abandons the above-entitled proceeding for the acquisition of the property…located at 29-31 East Santa Clara Street,” the VTA stated in court papers filed in November 2023.
This decision to dump the court case marks the second time that the VTA has given up a purchase effort involving sites on East Santa Clara Street between North First Street and North Second Street.
The transit agency also has given up an effort to grab ownership of a parcel next door at 17 East Santa Clara Street. A 26-story, 200-unit housing highrise is being eyed as a possible development on this property.
The VTA said it did not end up needing the property to build a component of the Downtown San Jose BART Station, whose proposed main entrance would be built near the two properties, according to the court papers.
The train stop is expected to be one of four BART stations located within San Jose.
The VTA used the same rationale in the two separate cases involving the properties at 17 East Santa Clara Street and 29-31 East Santa Clara Street, documents for the court cases stated.
“The design innovations for the project indicate that construction of a secondary headhouse of the project’s Downtown San Jose Station would not be required, thus removing the need to acquire the property,” the VTA stated in the court papers for the respective cases.
The principal owner of the 29-31 E. Santa Clara Street site is an entity operating as Z Hanna LLC, court papers show. Lars Fuller, an individual, is the provider of an existing mortgage on the property.
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At present, the 29-31 East Santa Clara property consists of a two-story building with retail operations on the ground floor and four residential units on the second floor, according to the LoopNet commercial real estate listing service. AK’s Square grocery store is one of the businesses operating on the site, Google Maps shows.
VTA is eyeing four BART stops in San Jose. Just one is operating, the Berryessa station. Also planned are BART stations at 28th Street, downtown near Santa Clara Street and First Street, and western downtown at the Diridon train station near the SAP Center.
The extension to the downtown San Jose Diridon transit station, which is also served by Caltrain, is deemed to be a vital step for regional rail services, according to the VTA’s website.
“Completion of the project will finally ‘ring the bay’ with frequent rail service,” the VTA stated in a web post.
