By Opportunity Zone Magazine Staff
Urban Catalyst, a multi-asset Opportunity Fund, is working on completing several projects in San Jose opportunity zones, starting with the Fountain Alley Building. Urban Catalyst was established with the goal of building in opportunity zones and is planning six projects in downtown San Jose.
“We are raising $250 million dollars and we are on track to close the fund before the end of the year,” says Joshua Burroughs, partner, Urban Catalyst.
The city of San Jose has 11 census tracts designated as opportunity zones that cover most of downtown, North San Jose, East San Jose and Little Portugal. Urban Catalyst called the city a development hot spot for tech firms, venture capitalists and incubators in the Bay Area.
Erik Hayden, president of Urban Catalyst, says he believes San Jose in ten years will be “the true Capital of Silicon Valley.” An increasing number of developers and investors have been drawn to downtown San Jose, due in part to plans by Google and Adobe to expand into the area.
Urban Catalyst’s first project is the six-story Fountain Alley Building development located on South First Street and features 65,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of retail space. It is located on historic Fountain Alley, next to Bank of Italy and 200 feet from the future BART Station. Urban Catalyst is partnering with Gary Dillabough of Urban Community on the project.
Burroughs says the retail portion will wrap down Fountain Alley and be mirrored by the Bank of Italy’s newly-renovated retail to create a retail destination. The project will include the existing historic building, which will serve as the main entrance and lobby for the office space. The land is pre-zoned and pre-general planned for mixed use.
"We are excited to launch the Fountain Alley project in the heart of San Jose,” says Burroughs. “This transit-oriented development will be a catalyst for the historic district and part of downtown San Jose's ongoing revitalization.”
Urban Catalyst hopes to start construction by April 2021. The company also has five other downtown buildings planned, some that will be residential and include housing for students and seniors.
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