Willow Glen Resident
News
Project along expressway, Fruitdale adds more retail, parks
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
The 12.7-acre project on the corner of Fruitdale Avenue and Southwest Expressway is one step closer to beginning the second of three construction phases.
On May 7, developer John Vidovich of DeAnza Properties and San Jose planners met with residents to discuss changes to the second phase.
Residents voiced their concerns over traffic and safety along St. Elizabeth, especially with the project's first phase nearing completion.
"We need to have signal lights installed before this phase is complete and people begin moving in," said a resident of the adjacent Wilshire Park condominiums.
As part of the project, the developer will be responsible for completing a list of public improvements. The construction of a second southbound left-turn lane along Southwest Expressway and Fruitdale Avenue and a 220-foot extension of the southbound left-turn lane as well as the construction of a second westbound left lane with the same extension will all be required.
The developer will also install a traffic signal on the corner of Southwest Expressway to mitigate any traffic congestion from the development.
These improvements, however, are not part of the first phase permits.
Vidovich told residents this portion of the project is tied up with the San Jose Department of Transportation and that he would work with them to speed this portion of the project along.
The first phase, currently under construction and tentatively scheduled for completion within the next six months, includes 246 attached residential units, a fitness club and a leasing office.
The second phase consists of a proposed building along Southwest Expressway, originally intended as 250,000 square feet of office space with ground-level retail but now reconfigured as 80 three- and four-story townhomes and flats with 10,315 square feet of retail on the ground level.
A second proposed residential building will include 117 units, above 4,630 square feet of retail space. These plans were modified from the initial design, which had no retail.
Once completed, the project will have a total of 502 units and 29,225 square feet of retail space.
On June 20, 2006, the San Jose City Council approved the planning commission's recommendation for planned development rezoning and tacked on some conditions of its own.
The conditions of approval require the developer to create public access for the open space portion of the project. This will include an east-to-west publicly accessible "paseo" between St. Elizabeth Drive and Southwest Expressway as a link between the Fruitdale light rail station and the neighborhoods. The project must also include at least 0.8 acres of open space within the center of the project.
The developer plans to include a 0.88-acre park inside the project with benches along its perimeter. In addition, the developer donated land along Curci and St. Elizabeth drives to become a 0.6-acre public park.
