Evergreen College Putting 27 Acres Up For Development

Anyone who has driven by Evergreen College or the intersection of Yerba Buena and San Felipe has likely noticed a huge empty dirt parcel. Evergreen College has decided that it will not need the land for future expansion of the college or the administrative building in the western section of the 27 acre parcel (the administrators have all moved to a building in Downtown San Jose). They are now seeking redevelopment bids for this piece of land which could include a mix of residential, retail, and office.

Evergreen College has already received one promising LOI (Letter of Intent) from Republic Urban Properties. Their proposal includes an urban/suburban project including 125-250 market rate apartments, 80-150 senior apartments, 40,000 SQFT of retail, 18,000-40,000 SQFT of office, a 45,000 SQFT gym, and an aquatics center that would be open to the public and would be used by the university. Republic Urban Properties would pay the College $1.5 million each year to lease the land.

There are some complications to the plan since the land is zoned as "quasi public" (is that an official designation?). The winning developer would need to request rezoning and would have to go through a new environmental review.

If successful, it looks like a promising development that would add value to the Evergreen community--both residents and the College.

Source: SVBJ