A long‑watched land deal in Saratoga has finally tipped the balance for a controversial housing plan. Essential Housing Asset Management has paid roughly $109.7 million for about 12.1 acres that have spent roughly a century under grapevines, and that sale clears the way for a scaled‑down proposal to build 64 homes on the site. The property sits near the southwest corner of Allendale and Chester avenues, in one of Saratoga’s priciest pockets, and the change could remake a quiet block that has been defined by open land and rows of vines.
The buyer, Essential Housing Asset Management, a land‑bank unit tied to TPG Angelo Gordon, paid about $109.7 million, according to county records reported by The Mercury News. The outlet reports the transaction was recorded on July 1 and identifies a seller group controlled by developers, including Thomas J. Wilson.
Project details and affordability
The revised plan calls for 52 two‑story single‑family homes for sale and 12 accessory dwelling units. Six of the ADUs would be deed‑restricted for very‑low‑income households and six for moderate‑income households, according to the project’s CEQA filing. CEQAnet lists the Vineyard One Residential Project (CPX25‑0004) and shows the unit mix and affordability commitments in the notice of exemption. The CEQA record also lists the site as APN 397‑01‑071 at 14001 Chester Ave.
Council sign‑off and the builder's‑remedy tradeoff
City records show the developer entered into a memorandum of understanding with the city that required the applicant to withdraw a larger Builder’s Remedy application if the city signed off on a smaller subdivision map. The Saratoga City Council approved a final map for the development on May 6, and the MOU links withdrawal of the 231‑unit proposal to that approval, according to the city’s project page (City of Saratoga). The municipal materials lay out a conditional schedule for withdrawing the larger plan and outline next steps for environmental review and mapping.
Who will build and the sales plan
The grant deed lists Lennar Homes as a partner in the project, and reporting indicates Lennar is expected to install utilities, pave streets and construct the houses before final completion. As The Mercury News reports, Essential Housing Asset Management would gradually sell lots to Lennar once the builder has secured sales of the single‑family homes. The timeline for when the deed‑restricted rental ADUs will come online has not yet been set.
Vineyard past and neighborhood reaction
The parcel has been farmed for generations and has long been linked to the Bellicitti family, with local historical materials citing agricultural use dating back to the early 20th century. The shift from vines to rooftops has drawn pushback as the concept evolved from a century‑old agricultural parcel into a planned residential neighborhood, a process chronicled by San Jose Spotlight. Neighbors have raised concerns about traffic, project scale and the loss of open land during public hearings and comment periods.
What it means for Saratoga
Sixty‑four homes in an exclusive, low‑density suburb will not fix the Bay Area’s housing shortage, but this deal shows how state housing laws and local negotiations are reshaping what gets built, even in affluent enclaves. The project uses state density bonus provisions and local settlement terms to shrink a larger, higher‑density proposal into a smaller plan that still includes deed‑restricted units, as reflected in the CEQA filing and city materials. The developer, the city and the prospective builder now move into the engineering, permitting and sales stages that will determine when construction can actually start.
