Sep. 1-SAN JOSE - Construction is being paused on a downtown San Jose tower in the wake of a discovery that has triggered an archaeological assessment of the project site and consultations with a Native American tribe.
Park Habitat, poised to become an eye-catching addition to the downtown San Jose skyline, is being crafted to become an office highrise where people could work in a garden.
An alliance of Canada-based Westbank, a mega-developer with a worldwide reach; and San Jose-based Urban Community, a busy local development firm led by real estate entrepreneurs Gary Dillabough and Jeff Arrillaga, is building the Park Habitat tower at 180 Park Ave. next to The Tech Interactive museum.
The developers broke ground on Park Habitat in April and began demolition of the site in May with the start of the bulldozing of the old Parkside Hall complex, which once served as a convention center.
The construction project recently produced a discovery, whose precise nature wasn't disclosed by Westbank and Urban Community, that has slowed the project's development timeline.
"We have encountered some unanticipated site conditions related to environmental concerns which we are working to address so that site works can continue," the Westbank project development team stated in comments emailed to this news organization.
For the moment, this discovery has produced a pause in the construction work at the project site, according to Westbank.
Park Habitat is an office and retail complex totaling 1.2 million square feet that will feature a "green lung" as the centerpiece of the environmentally friendly tower.
"Our site work does include an archeological assessment," Westbank stated. "We are working closely with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe on this aspect."
The 20-story tower will include 60,800 square feet of museum space to be used for The Tech Interactive's expansion, as well as 11,700 square feet of ground-floor retail for restaurants and shops.
Japan-based Kengo Kuma & Associates, a world-renowned firm, is Park Habitat's lead designer and architect.
"What if we could work in a park?" Kengo Kuma, founder and principal executive of the architectural firm, wrote in a post on the Westbank site.
Park Habitat features a vast and open central courtyard, which the developers call a 'green lung.' The courtyard would be open to the sky and provide both ventilation and cooling.
The tower includes pocket gardens and a rooftop forest, along with vegetation throughout the highrise.
Park Habitat represents one of at least seven distinct projects that Westbank and Urban Community are planning as part of what the companies call their downtown San Jose campus. The projects include multiple office and residential towers.
The Westbank and Urban Community endeavors also include a top-to-bottom, inside and outside revamp and renovation of the historic Bank of Italy building downtown.
For now, however, the main focus of the Park Habitat project is the site's archaeological assessment.
"As this work is ongoing, we cannot comment further at this time," Westbank and Urban Community stated in the emailed comments.
The duration of the assessment wasn't immediately clear.
"Westbank is dealing with this in a professional and respectful manner," said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.
Once the tower is complete, Park Habitat could become an icon of San Jose's skyline.
"Park Habitat will bring a lot of energy and vibrancy to the downtown," Staedler said. "This is a building that could become a destination for people who are visiting San Jose."
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