One of North San Jose's old motels may soon swap nightly bookings for long-term leases, as developers move ahead with a plan to turn the Caravelle Inn & Suites on North First Street into more than 100 apartments right next to major transit routes.
The pitch would transform the existing 58-room motel into 58 apartments and add a new five-story, 45-unit residential building behind it, according to documents released Monday. The property sits near North First and East Rosemary streets, only a short walk from transit lines and highway ramps that connect to downtown San Jose and the airport.
As reported by The Mercury News, the first phase would rework the motel at 1310 North First St into 52 residential studios plus six additional units. A second phase would then add the five-story, 45-apartment building at the rear of the site, nudging the total unit count to a little over 100 homes on the parcel.
The concept leans on a familiar two-step strategy: reuse the motel rooms as studio apartments in phase one, then fill in the back of the lot with mid-rise construction in phase two. Supporters often tout this kind of conversion as a quicker, cheaper route to new homes than starting from scratch, though financing and city approvals still determine the actual pace.
Part of a regional motel-to-housing push
The Caravelle proposal is the latest entry in a growing roster of hotel and motel reuse ideas across Santa Clara County, as public agencies and private developers hunt for sites that can be turned into affordable or supportive housing.
The Santa Clara County Housing Authority’s FY2027 plan, for example, calls out an adaptive reuse of the former Comfort Suites at 1510 North First into 58 studios, highlighting how hotel properties in this corridor are being repositioned for housing. SCCHA's FY2027 plan and earlier reporting on Homekey-funded conversions point to state and local programs that have helped similar projects advance in recent years.
Property details and current status
The Caravelle site appears in commercial listings as 1310–1330 North First Street, with broker materials flagging the possibility of assembling it with adjacent parking at the nearby Holiday Inn, a sign the location is actively marketed for redevelopment potential. CREXI carries the listing and related context.
Travel sites show the Caravelle as temporarily closed. Expedia, for instance, lists the property as shut from April 9 through November 30, 2027, a status that often indicates a hotel is being prepared for sale or significant renovation. Expedia reflects that closure window on its property page.
What comes next
If the developer moves ahead, the project will still need to clear city planning and building reviews, and the shift from motel to apartments plus new construction could trigger environmental analysis under CEQA. The City of San José requires applicants to use its electronic plan review system and follow detailed submittal checklists, including rules on when environmental studies are needed. Those procedural steps are outlined in the City of San José permit resources.
Similar hotel-to-housing efforts nearby suggest that, once funding is in place and entitlements line up, construction can move relatively quickly. As one example, the Housing Authority’s FY2027 materials identify a November or December 2026 construction-closing target for another hotel conversion in the area, according to SCCHA's FY2027 plan.
Neighbors, transit riders and housing advocates will be tracking how the Caravelle proposal navigates San Jose’s review process, and how details on financing and long-term management shake out. Public filings, agency notices and developer statements will reveal whether this motel really does trade its no-vacancy sign for a roster of permanent residents in the coming years.
