A residential high-rise in downtown San Jose is vying for a few million bucks in city subsidies. The City Council on Tuesday will consider whether to grant the project at 171 Post St. a $2.9 million tax break under an economic development program designed to incentivize new housing construction in central San Jose.
Since the city began offering high-rise incentives in 2007, they’ve resulted in the construction of 1,522 units in downtown, according to a memo from San Jose Economic Development Director Kim Walesh.
The current incentive cuts construction taxes by 50 percent and allows tax payments to be delayed until downtown high-rises are issued a certificate of occupancy. The program also gives developers half-off of parkland fees for multi-family developers with five or more units in the downtown area.
To qualify for the tax breaks, developers had to secure a foundation permit by the end of July this year. That means the Post Street Tower under consideration will be the last project expected to qualify for the incentive, Walesh explained.
Post Street Tower is a 20-story mixed-use project comprising 228 residential units and about 8,400 square feet of ground-level commercial space. SIMEON Properties LLC, the developer, proposes building 215 parking lots as part of the tower, including three underground levels and two above-ground.
The project is walking distance to San Pedro Square Market, City View Plaza and Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Walesh describes the tower as clean and modern, with balconies, large windows and street-level activation.
More from the San Jose City Council agenda for November 6, 2018:
- Councilors Sergio Jimenez and Raul Peralez want to name the South San Jose Police Substation after former police chaplain Dave Brigden, who retired in 2014 and died earlier this year. “As a previous police officer, Council member Raul Peralez witnessed the late Chaplain’s passion for his work and the character in which he performed his duties,” the two council members wrote in a memo. “It is because of this that there is no better way to honor his name and life than by prominently affixing his name to our South San Jose Police Substation. We urge our council colleagues to support SJPD, the Bridgen family, and our recommendation for the renaming of the police substation.”
- San Jose expects to receive a grant of $540,000 for up to three years from Destination: Home to fund a planner who will expedite developers’ applications for permanent supportive housing for extremely low-income residents.
WHAT: City Council meets
WHEN: 1:30pm Tuesday
WHERE: City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose
INFO: City Clerk, 408.535.1260
LMAO
> . . . a $2.9 million tax break under an economic development program designed to incentivize new housing construction in central San Jose.
Hmmm. People who live in central San Jose likely vote disproportionately for Democrats. This sounds like a subsidy for Democrat voters.
Whatever happened to all those lawyers who used to fight for civil rights by bringing “disparate impact” lawsuits?
If a 100% market rate luxury high rise isn’t deserving of a $3m tax break I don’t know what is.
Incentivize housing development to generate a larger tax base so that the city can fill it’s coffers – got it, sounds good. Now the big question – will the city act as a fiduciary for the taxpayer?