A years-long tug-of-war over a sliver of downtown San Jose real estate is on track to land in front of a jury this spring, even though the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority now says it does not need the land for the BART extension after all. The fight centers on how the site should be developed and how much VTA must pay if it takes the property. A jury trial, if it happens, could drop a dollar figure that reshapes the financial math for both the transit agency and a planned housing tower.
Court papers cited by The Mercury News show VTA is still the plaintiff in the eminent-domain case, even as it tells the court that a redesigned Downtown San Jose station no longer needs those parcels. According to the filings, both sides asked for more time to wrap up depositions in November 2025, and a jury trial could start as soon as April 2026. The case remains active in Santa Clara County, despite VTA saying it has stepped away from pursuing the site for its revised station design.
The parcel at 17 East Santa Clara Street is the proposed home of the Eterna Tower, a roughly 26-story, 192-unit residential project, according to the City of San Jose planning file. City of San José records show the project was filed within the last few years and has not yet broken ground, while earlier coverage traces VTA's eminent-domain lawsuits over downtown parcels back to 2022. The Real Deal documented the agency's initial push to seize the site.
Jury Could Set the Price
Even with VTA now saying the redesigned BART station no longer requires the parcels, the real fight that remains is more about money than control. In court papers quoted by The Mercury News, an affiliate of Downtown SJ Towers wrote that the VTA seeks to take the defendant's property. The primary issue in the case will be compensation. In other words, the question is not whether VTA can take the land, but what the check might look like.
If jurors decide the fair-market value is higher than what VTA's appraisers have put on paper, the agency could be ordered to pay out significantly more to the property owner. That verdict would not just close out a legal drama; it could also reset expectations for how much downtown land along the BART corridor is worth when the government comes knocking.
What Comes Next
Attorneys for both sides say settlement talks are still in play and additional discovery is underway as they move toward being ready for trial. The broader BART-to-Silicon-Valley buildout means whatever happens here will be watched closely beyond this single block. VTA has already approved purchases and demolition on nearby blocks for the project, as reported by San José Inside, and Hoodline coverage has highlighted VTA strong-arm tactics complaints from merchants and property owners.
How a jury values this downtown parcel could ripple into relocation payouts, nearby development timelines and the overall project tab for VTA's BART extension. For now, the eminent-domain suit remains very much alive in the Santa Clara County court and could be sent to a jury as soon as April 2026, putting the question of compensation, not ownership, squarely in jurors' hands. That decision could shape how quickly projects like Eterna Tower move forward and how much it ultimately costs to assemble and build the BART extension in the heart of downtown San Jose.
