San Jose State University last week announced a $113 million deal with a Bay Area developer to convert the south tower of the former Fairmont Hotel—now the Hilton Signia Hotel—in downtown San Jose into a 700-bed student residence hall.
The university called the “landmark agreement” with Throckmorton Partners of Mill Valley “the Bay Area’s largest post-pandemic conversion of commercial property” for residential use.
Under the plan, a portion of the current San Jose Hilton Signia Hotel will be purchased by Throckmorton Partners for $73 million, which will lease–with an option to buy after two years–to the university, pending approval by the California State University Board of Trustees.
“The agreement will position SJSU to tap into currently-underutilized, empty hotel space, and be able to deliver on hundreds of affordable housing units for undergraduate students by fall 2024,” the university said in a statement. The new residence will include 124 affordable beds for students in need.
In addition to the purchase of the 264-room south tower of the 805-room Hilton Signia hotel, located several blocks east of the San Jose State to real estate firm Throckmorton, another $40 million is expected to be spent on improvements, fees, taxes and utilities, according to the university.
The project will temporarily be called “Spartan Village on the Paseo” until the completion of a formal facility-naming process, according to San Jose State.
The lease agreement will be financed from a $89 million debt relief package awarded this year by the state’s capacity as part of the Higher Education Student Housing.
“The university’s ongoing efforts to further expand its footprint in downtown San José will lead to hundreds more students living within a short walking distance to campus and contributing to downtown small businesses and entertainment venues,” the university said in the statement. “Additional students living downtown underscores the university’s commitment to housing more of its students and also its continued investment in downtown San José’s economic vitality and success.”
Ultimately, the university aims to leverage new state housing-specific funding secured earlier this year to deliver a cumulative total of 517 affordable student beds across its entire housing stock in the coming years.
More details and renderings can be found at go.sjsu.edu/newhousing.
