Introduction
West San Jose is in the middle of its most significant transformation in several decades — and most homeowners haven't fully grasped what's coming.
Within a single 2-mile corridor, nine major development projects are either under construction, freshly approved, or moving through final permitting. We're talking about 1,500+ new apartment units, a one-of-a-kind rooftop Costco that will make San Jose the city with more Costcos than anywhere else in the country, Santana Row's first new housing in over a decade, and a mixed-use urban village that broke ground in March 2026 after years of planning.
For Silicon Valley real estate investors and homeowners, this level of concentrated infrastructure investment in one small area is a signal — not just about West San Jose, but about where long-term property values are headed across the region.
In this article, we'll break down:
- The 9 active projects shaping West San Jose's future
- What each development means for nearby property values
- The market dynamics unique to single-family homeowners in this corridor
- What buyers, renters, and investors should be watching right now
El Paseo de Saratoga: The Largest Urban Infill Project in West San Jose
This is the project that has defined neighborhood conversation for years — and it's now officially in vertical construction.
El Paseo de Saratoga will deliver 772 apartments across two towers (12 and 10 stories), 31,500 sq ft of ground-floor retail, a pedestrian main street connecting to Saratoga Avenue, and 3.5 acres of public open space. A separate seven-story, 263-bed senior and memory care facility is also part of the master plan. The original entitlement allowed up to 994 units — the current phase is at 772.
The path to groundbreaking wasn't without friction. In December 2024, the city approved an amendment reducing on-site affordable housing to just 38 units out of 772 (5%), with the developer paying approximately $13.9 million in fees to reduce that number. Housing advocates pushed back hard. The city responded in March 2026 with a fee waiver and incentive package to help offset borrowing costs — and that's what finally got shovels in the ground.
What this signals to homeowners nearby:
- The city committed significant resources to make this project financially viable
- A Whole Foods-anchored, walkable mixed-use village with 3.5 acres of open space is a direct walkability upgrade for surrounding residential blocks
- Retail activation of this scale historically supports surrounding residential values in Bay Area markets
Holland Partners' 532-Unit Project: San Jose's Fastest-Ever Housing Approval
Speed matters in Silicon Valley real estate — and this project set a record.
The Holland Partners Group project at 3896 Stevens Creek received approval for 532 apartments across two eight-story buildings in just eight months. The typical San Jose discretionary review process takes 18 to 20 months at minimum.
This was San Jose's first-ever ministerial approval under California's Streamlined Infill Housing Law. The project bypassed multi-year discretionary review entirely, processed as a matter of right through the city's planning department. It will include 27 affordable units targeting very low-income households, plus ground-floor retail.
Key implications:
- Sets a precedent for faster project delivery across San Jose
- Reduces the regulatory risk premium developers typically price into projects
- More efficient approvals generally translate to more development activity — which drives neighborhood amenity growth
The Rooftop Costco: A First in American Retail
There has been significant misinformation circulating about this project. Here are the confirmed facts.
The conditional use permit for the West San Jose Costco was approved by San Jose City Council in October 2024. A lawsuit from a group called West Valley Citizens for Responsible Development attempted to block it. Costco is now pulling its final building permits — construction is proceeding.
When it opens, this location will be:
- The first Costco in the US to feature rooftop parking
- Located within the existing Westgate West shopping center (not adjacent to Prospect High School, as some reports have incorrectly stated)
- Approximately 165,000 sq ft in size
- San Jose's sixth Costco location — giving San Jose more Costco stores than any other city in the country, surpassing both San Diego and Phoenix at five
For homeowners, the addition of a major retail anchor like this consistently correlates with increased traffic, commercial viability, and sustained demand for nearby residential.
Santana Row Adds Housing for the First Time in Over a Decade
This is the development getting the least media attention — and it may be one of the most telling signals in the corridor.
Federal Realty Investment Trust, the REIT that owns and operates Santana Row, broke ground in 2025 on 258 apartments at 358 Hatton Street. The unit mix is deliberate: 95 studios, 131 one-bedrooms, 32 two-bedrooms. This is a targeted play for the single tech professional — the Nvidia engineer, the Apple product manager, the Google recruiter — who wants to walk to high-end retail and shuttle to campus.
These apartments are expected to be occupied by 2027.
Also approved for the corridor: the Olin Hotel at 425 South Winchester Boulevard — a seven-story, 176-room boutique hotel approved in August 2024, with height increased to 85 feet to improve financial feasibility. This completes the hotel, retail, and residential stack that makes the Santana Row and Valley Fair area a destination rather than just a shopping center.
Winchester Ranch, 4300 Stevens Creek, and the Remaining Pipeline
West San Jose's transformation doesn't stop at Santana Row.
Winchester Ranch at 585 South Winchester Boulevard (across from the Winchester Mystery House) has been active since apartments opened in February 2024, but the master plan isn't complete. Pulte Group is still building out single-family row homes and condos on the interior of the site — converting a former mobile home park into a walkable, high-density neighborhood with owned housing options.
At 4300 Stevens Creek Boulevard, the picture is more complex:
- 173 affordable units (backed by Pacific West Builders and city funding) — open and leasing now
- 407 market-rate units — still working through construction financing due to elevated interest rates
- 250-room hotel — also financing-dependent
- A potential Chick-fil-A drive-thru proposal currently under city review — drawing planning department scrutiny given Stevens Creek's existing congestion
335 South Winchester (the former Khan's Restaurant site) has a demolition permit issued. Physical clearing has begun. The site is expected to convert to multi-family residential.
Finally, the Santa Clara County Valley Health Center at Bascom Avenue was purchased outright by the county's Board of Supervisors for $340 million — rather than renewing a lease — saving taxpayers an estimated $112 million over time. For homeowners near Bascom, a permanent institutional healthcare anchor is one of the most stable long-term value supports a neighborhood can have.
What This Means for West San Jose Homeowners
Here's the underlying market dynamic that makes all of this significant for single-family homeowners specifically: none of these projects add single-family supply.
Every unit being built in this corridor is apartments, condos, or senior housing. The 1,500+ incoming units will house more residents and support more retail activation — but they will not compete with existing single-family homes. Demand for the walkability, school access, and established lot sizes in the surrounding residential streets will increase as the neighborhood becomes more amenity-rich.
For current owners:
- More retail activation (Whole Foods, Costco, Santana Row expansion) raises the quality-of-life profile of the area
- More housing density around a corridor typically strengthens values on the stable residential streets nearby
- Healthcare anchors like the Bascom Valley Health Center create employment density and long-term neighborhood stability
- The absence of new single-family supply means your asset faces no new direct competition
For buyers evaluating this corridor:
- The transformation is early-stage — pricing has not yet fully reflected what this area will look like in three to five years
- Condos and townhomes from the Pulte communities in the area may become available as resales, offering a newer product in a rapidly improving neighborhood
Conclusion
West San Jose is not a neighborhood in transition — it's a neighborhood in acceleration. Nine significant projects in a two-mile corridor, backed by both private capital and city incentives, represent a level of concentrated investment that Silicon Valley has rarely seen at this scale in a single residential area.
For homeowners already in this corridor, the data points to sustained and likely strengthening long-term value. For buyers watching from the sidelines, the window to enter before this transformation is fully priced in is narrowing.
As a data-driven Bay Area real estate advisor ranked in the top 0.5% nationally with over $80M in annual production, I help clients analyze not only properties — but the long-term direction of the markets they're buying into.
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