San Jose has given the green light to a major housing development that promises to transform Japanese-American farmland into a sprawling mixed-use urban village while paying homage to its history.
The City Council has approved development permits and the rezoning of 22.88 acres at the intersection of Seely Avenue and Montague Expressway for The Hanover Co., SummerHill Homes and The Pacific Cos. project that will result in 1,472 housing units, 18,965 square feet of retail and a 2.5-acre park.
“This project is an important project for North San Jose, for all of San Jose and for the entire South Bay,” said District 4 Councilmember David Cohen. “The 1,500 units planned for the site makes it the largest development project coming to council since we got an approved housing element.”
The site includes townhomes for sale and 235 units of affordable housing spread across four buildings. One building solely reserved for affordable housing could receive financing next week with construction targeted as early as February.
The developers intend to purchase the land, which includes a 1920s-constructed farmhouse, from the family of farmer Eiichi Sakauye.
Sakauye was a prominent figure in San Jose’s agricultural community before and after World War II. He was among the 120,000 Japanese-Americans incarcerated at internment camps during the war but was the only person in San Jose able to reclaim property when he returned.
Community members and preservationists pointed to the historical importance of Sakauye’s life and lands in calling for developers to save the farmhouse and do more to keep Japanese-American history alive.
Those sentiments were shared by Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, who broke down in tears as she talked about why preserving history was so important to San Jose residents.
“At the end of the day, it’s not just about the house,” Kamei said. “It’s not just about creating a few plaques to tell the Sakauye story. It’s about our San Jose story and an American story. I really tried not to get emotional, but this is hard because we have many (Asian American and Pacific Islander) communities that have been erased and we have a chance to do something about this.”
Land-use consultant Erik Schoennauer said the developers are working with the Sakauye family on ways to celebrate their history at the site and in the community.
The developers intend to build a commemoration plaza and support renaming the park after Sakauye, which would require council approval. They also have pledged $100,000 to help relocate the farmhouse to another site.
Cohen said the developers were open to helping preserve the farmhouse in whatever way was necessary but were not part of the decision to find it a home away from the new park.
The city’s parks department, which currently has a significant maintenance backlog, has expressed concerns that the farmhouse “would be added to our inventory of buildings that have historic value that we cannot currently maintain.”
History Park San Jose, however, has stepped up and offered space to preserve the farmhouse, if necessary.
CEO Bill Schroh Jr. said while keeping the farmhouse at the historic site should be the goal, he was confident the organization could raise the money needed to relocate the building.
“This is an important piece of San Jose history,” Schroh said. “This is an important piece of our Japanese story and definitely needs a try to be saved.”
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