Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is getting ready to trade its longtime River Oaks headquarters for a massive housing play in North San Jose, sketching out a transit‑oriented neighborhood with roughly 1,095 homes wrapped around the River Oaks light‑rail station. A first phase is pitched at about 328 affordable units, and the agency’s decision to shift its main offices downtown is what clears the North First Street property for housing and station upgrades.
VTA’s River Oaks Station Access Study outlines a preferred concept that includes up to 1,095 residential units, around 333,150 square feet of office space and about 20,990 square feet of retail, and identifies Eden Housing as the Phase 1 developer with a proposal for roughly 328 units, according to planning documents from VTA. The study estimates that Phase 1 alone could add about 800 weekday trips to light‑rail and bus service and recommends mobility‑hub touches such as secure bike parking, bikeshare docks and better pedestrian links. VTA also projects that turning the site into a transit‑oriented development could generate long‑term ground‑lease revenue to help support transit service, according to VTA.
Downtown Move And The Price Tag
To make all of this possible, VTA closed on the 17‑story Almaden Crossing tower at 488 South Almaden Boulevard in May 2025 for about $63.7 million, a price that industry coverage pegged at roughly 60% below the building’s assessed value, according to The Real Deal. Board approvals to consolidate offices into the downtown high‑rise are what unlocked the River Oaks campus for redevelopment, and agency officials have framed the deal as a rare market opening rather than a splurge. Local reporting also notes that VTA plans to demolish the existing North First Street complex to clear the way for housing, per The Mercury News.
Phase 1 And Neighborhood Changes
Eden Housing’s concept for the southwest portion of the property centers on a mix of affordable apartments, a southward extension of Riverview Park and ground‑floor retail that could help keep the station area active beyond commute hours. The study leans heavily on cutting car trips, calling for unbundled parking, transit subsidies and other transportation‑demand management measures, while adding protected bike lanes and safer crossings that would knit the station into the Guadalupe River Trail network. Community outreach summarized in the report shows residents are especially interested in public gathering spaces, more retail and stronger bike and pedestrian access around the station.
What Comes Next
The study stops short of setting a construction start date. VTA says the timing will hinge on funding, agreements with the city and county, and environmental review. Previous VTA housing efforts have leaned on state grants such as the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program and on county housing dollars, a pattern San José Spotlight has highlighted. Developers and city planners still need to hash out ground‑lease terms and navigate design and entitlement before any demolition or construction can actually begin.
Jessie O’Malley Solis, VTA’s director of real estate, has called the downtown tower purchase probably a once‑in‑a‑lifetime deal, in remarks reported by The Real Deal. If the River Oaks concept holds together, planners and housing advocates say the site could eventually deliver hundreds of affordable homes next to light rail, but VTA will still need committed developers, grant money and a stack of city approvals before any cranes show up.
