In recent years, several downtown San Jose merchants have been struggling with the challenge of potentially losing their businesses due to the planned BART extension through the city, and with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) reportedly applying intense pressure to vacate their properties without proper compensation, tensions continue to rise, according to Mercury News.
The issue revolves around a three-story retail and residential building in downtown San Jose, where several business owners claim that the VTA is pushing them out of their locations ahead of the BART station construction without sufficient compensation, as stated in court documents reviewed by the Mercury News. This situation has led to a lawsuit involving the VTA seeking to seize the property through an eminent domain proceeding, with the property owner accusing the VTA of failing to properly appraise the property's value and forcing tenants to exit before securing new locations for their businesses.
Norman Matteoni, the founding partner of San Jose-based law firm Matteoni O'Laughlin & Hechtman, has been representing the tenants and property owner in this case, and he argues that they need at least until November 2023 or even later to vacate the site, as mentioned in the court filings. Moreover, he demands an accurate appraisal of the property from the VTA before they are forced out, and has publicly pointed out the ongoing delays in the BART project within downtown San Jose and nearby neighborhoods, as highlighted by San Jose Spotlight.
The VTA's actions are not isolated incidents, as property owners located right in the project's path have also reported similar experiences with the agency. As San Jose Spotlight has also reported earlier this year, Henry Nguyen, who has operated Vietnam Printing in San Jose for 36 years, claimed that VTA contacted him last year about buying an easement below his business's property and warned him that if he did not accept their offer of $43,000, he could face a lawsuit from the agency. At the time of that reporting, Nguyen had yet to sign the contract.
VTA's strong-arm tactics do not stop there. According to San Jose Business Journal, in 2021, the transit agency also attempted to use its condemnation powers to acquire several other properties in downtown San Jose, including a bank building at 41 W. Santa Clara St., for the planned BART extension. The VTA filed a complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court seeking an order to validate its use of eminent domain in acquiring the building and the property where it's located. JP Morgan Chase & Co. owns the bank structure, while a joint venture called Green Valley, owned by Swenson and Preston Inc., owns the land beneath the building. Both entities have been named in the VTA complaint.
However, VTA officials claim that they are working towards resolving these disputes. "VTA is in negotiations with the owner," said Bernice Alaniz, a spokesperson for the agency, as reported by Mercury News. She added, "We will be as accommodating as we can regarding timeline while considering the overall project schedule and needs."
While the legal battle continues, the merchants on East Santa Clara Street are looking ahead to a potential new site to relocate their businesses. "There is a site that is tentatively identified for relocation," Matteoni said in an interview with Mercury News. "The site that has been located would be suitable for both of their businesses."
