Awards and Rankings September 20, 2019

CityView Plaza Wins 2019 SVBJ Structures Awards Best Deal of the Year

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal

A transformation of San Jose begins with the
CityView deal 

What better place for developer Jay Paul Co. to kick off the next chapter of San Jose’s redevelopment than where it all began?
CityView Plaza, a mixed-use campus across from Plaza de Cesar Chavez, was once one of the largest developments downtown.
After being sold for $283.5 million to the prolific San Francisco-based developer in summer 2018, the 575,000-square-foot site
is now set to be demolished and built into a new hub of growth at 170 Park Center Plaza.

That proposal – a 19-story, 3.4 million-square-foot glassy mixed-use complex – is what Jay Paul CIO Matt Lituchy said was
their opportunity to set change in motion for downtown San Jose

“It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often,” Lituchy said. “Controlling almost an entire city block right in the
heart of downtown and being able to shape its redevelopment is something that is really unique. That’s what attracted us
to the opportunity in the first place when the property was up for sale [in April 2018].”

The campus — surrounded by Market Street, Park Avenue, Almaden Boulevard and San Fernando Street — is not only one of
the first redevelopment projects to be seen in that area, but it is also an early Jay Paul project in San Jose.

However, the developer didn’t stop there: The group also purchased two additional properties across the street at 200 Park Ave.
for $100 million. Work on that proposed 20-story building totaling 850,000 square feet is expected to break ground this fall.
Jay Paul Co. — SVBJ’s developer of the year for 2018 — also spent $238 million to purchase 50 West, an 18-story building that’s
often referred to as the KQED Building. It’s across the street from CityView at 50 W. San Fernando St. Jay Paul has now
purchased an estimated $667.5 million worth of properties in San Jose’s urban core.

“Now I believe we’re one of the largest landlords in downtown San Jose,” Lituchy said about Jay Paul’s purchase of the property.
“That was all within a single calendar year, from last August to now.”

Envisioning a more vibrant urban core

This feat lines up with the San Francisco company’s reputation, which has secured past tenants like Google, Facebook
and Amazon.

Lituchy said part of the decision-making process to develop in downtown San Jose came from listening to those sorts of tenants,
who’ve expressed desires to move into a 24-hour live/work environment to help attract and maintain talent, a newer concept
compared to the history of seasoned suburban campuses.

That foot in the door of who might move into the area — timed with other concurrent developments like the expansion of BART,
the growth of Diridon Station and Google’s desire to create a mixed-use urban campus on the west side of downtown — all aligned
to create the opportunity for this significant deal.

Say hello to the planned new Cityview Plaza

The planned new development by Jay Paul Co., involves three 19-story glass towers standing on five two- to three-story
podiums. The total project involves 3.7 million square feet of retail and office space.

Blage Zelalich, the downtown manager for the San Jose Office of Economic Development, said the city is pleased about the timing of
this all coming together, especially as the project would add 3 million square feet of downtown office space.

“Long term, we’re really excited to have a company of Jay Paul’s reputation make such a significant investment into San Jose,”
Zelalich said. “As far as downtown San Jose being a hub for folks from all over the Bay Area, having a development of this size just
creates more opportunities for folks to be either living, working or both in downtown.”

She also sees this growth right in line with the city’s vision for a more vibrant and enjoyable urban core, as it has plans to redo Park
Avenue and upgrade the entire pedestrian experience with a “curbless” street design. Fronting the majority of their developments
along Park Avenue, talks have started about the importance of those places being active and inviting.

“[Jay Paul] realize that’s an amenity both for the city and the downtown, but also for their potential office tenants and employees,”
Zelalich said. “We haven’t made a specific ask of them other than the Park Avenue improvements, but I think that if we were making
those asks, they are going to be open to that because they are community oriented and minded.”


The new CityView

  • 3 buildings
  • 19 stories in each building
  • 293 feet: Height of buildings
  • 3.4 million square feet
  • 5,600: Planned number of parking spaces

A major urban force in Silicon Valley

While quite an achievement, this type of development isn’t unheard of for the company or its namesake. But while the speed and
scale of announcements was a highlight of this ongoing project for the last year, one thing is yet uncertain: who will take up the
space.

While Lituchy said no tenants have been selected, educated guesses could be made from their long list of clients.

“All I know is that you can look at our track record and our relationships with other projects in the Bay Area to get an understanding
of who some of those tenants could possibly be,” he said, emphasizing that he can’t speculate on preliminary, confidential discussions.

The award for Deal of the Year looks at a project’s size, scope and significance in the city. Lituchy said receiving the award is
something to be proud of, as he thinks the CityView Plaza deal encompasses each of those elements in what will start a chain of growth
and redevelopment throughout San Jose.

“I think the [project’s] sheer size is less important than the eventual scope of the redevelopment and the significance for downtown,”
he said. “I think the city is going to continue to grow and prosper. It’s going to be the headquarters of Silicon Valley; it’s the shining
light and major urban force in Silicon Valley.”

Key players

By the numbers

  • $283.5 million: Price of CityView deal summer 2018
  • $667.5 million: The amount of estimated worth of Jay Paul Co.-owned property in San Jose’s urban core
  • 600,437 square feet: Current CityView campus size
  • March 2020: When the current CityView complex could be demolished

Link to Original Article (may require registration) https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2019/09/19/a-transformation-begins-with-the-cityiew-deal.html