VTA buys prime downtown San Jose property near bullet train right-of-way

A transit agency has bought a key downtown San Jose property near a bullet train right-of-way that would connect to an upgraded rail station.

SAN JOSE — A transit agency has bought a prime downtown San Jose property near the right-of-way for a bullet train line that would connect to a greatly upgraded rail station — paying much more than the site’s previous price.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has bought a property with addresses of 32 and 60 Stockton Avenue in downtown San Jose, according to documents filed on Dec. 15 with the County Recorder’s Office.

The VTA paid $23.8 million for two parcels at the corner of Stockton Avenue and East Santa Clara Street, a San Jose city staff memorandum states.

The property at one point was the site of a never-built housing tower in downtown San Jose.

A family trust acting on behalf of the late architect Thang Do, who was the principal designer of the housing complex, sold the property to the VTA, the county records show.

The VTA paid roughly 58% more than the combined $15.1 million that the Thang Do family paid for the property in two transactions, one in 2021 and another in 2022, a review of multiple public documents shows.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the VTA — as authorized by an Oct. 17 San Jose City Council vote — plunked down $8.7 million more than the money the Thang Do group paid.

In November 2022, Urban Catalyst, a busy San Jose real estate development and investment firm, won approval from San Jose city for the development of a 472-unit housing complex, which was named Apollo.

At no point did Urban Catalyst buy the property. However, the real estate firm formed a joint venture with the Thang Do group to seek approval for the project and launch its development.

Projects that land final approval from a city and are thereby fully entitled can trigger a jump in property values, even if the site has yet to be developed.

Soon after city planners gave final approval to the project, it became clear the VTA had become interested in the Stockon Avenue property as a site that could accommodate key components of a high-speed rail link to the Diridon train station, as well as a wide-ranging upgrade of the existing rail hub.

Urban Catalyst says that it helped to facilitate negotiations between the Thang Do family trust and government agencies, primarily the city of San Jose, for the sale of the downtown property to the VTA.

“We weren’t planning on facilitating this sale,” said Erik Hayden, Urban Catalyst’s founder and chief executive officer. “We planned on building Apollo.”

An existing car wash and a billboard occupy the site at present. Both of these are expected to continue operating for the foreseeable future.

“The city and/or VTA staff will consider interim land uses for the property,” Urban Catalyst said in a prepared release.