Santa Clara University is looking to turn a low-key warehouse on Campbell Avenue in San Jose into a packed housing hub for graduate students and university staff, according to newly surfaced planning records. The concept would swap an underused industrial building less than a mile from campus for a mid-rise residence that, on paper, squeezes in hundreds of beds.
According to The Mercury News, documents filed with the San Jose planning department outline roughly 345 bedrooms and about 474 beds across approximately 227 housing units at 1202 Campbell Avenue. The housing would be aimed at graduate students and staff and sit within walking distance of SCU's main campus.
Files Show Earlier Application And Potential Scale
The City of San José's project page traces planning activity at 1200–1202 Campbell Avenue back to filings under GP18-015, PDC18-038 and PD19-020 and includes an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration. Those earlier records describe options for a seven or eight-story building with up to about 290 residential units and attach technical appendices on traffic, noise, air quality, and other environmental topics.
University representatives say the housing is necessary to keep staff and support graduate recruitment. Sean Collins told The Mercury News that SCU needs adequate housing for staff and grad students so it can continue to be an economic generator for the city and region. Project documents frame the idea as both campus support and a way to reactivate an underutilized industrial site.
Part Of A Broader Campus Housing Push
Other local schools are already in the same game. San José State converted a former hotel into Spartan Village on The Paseo and opened the property in August 2024 as a large student housing community. The conversion is held up as an example of how university-linked projects have repurposed existing structures to add capacity without greenfield building, per reporting by SFYIMBY.
What The City Review Will Look At
Because the site is currently zoned for heavy industrial use, any redevelopment would require a General Plan amendment, rezoning to a Planned Development district and a planned development permit, according to the City of San José. The city's online packet includes transportation and environmental studies that planners will use to judge potential impacts and required mitigations as the application moves through review.
Neighbors and industry groups are likely to weigh tradeoffs between local jobs, parking and new housing, and neighborhood advocates may push for stronger worker protections or tighter parking and traffic measures. Public hearings are expected as the application moves through the city's review process.
For now, the proposal remains a concept on file with the city and has not received final approvals. More details are expected to surface as the university's application advances through scheduled hearings and any supplemental filings.
