An 83-unit apartment complex built on the site of a shuttered Morgan Hill fruit-packing plant has changed hands, with Redwood City-based Keech Properties acquiring the Sunsweet property at 90 East Third Street from San Jose developer Republic Urban Properties. The deal also came with a $29.4 million loan and a lingering question that two outlets answered two different ways: how much Keech actually paid.
According to The Real Deal, the final sale price was not disclosed, though the outlet reported the complex traded for more than its $37.6 million development cost. A separate report from siliconvalley.com put a specific number on it, stating the property was bought by a Bay Area real estate firm for $45 million. Keech reportedly acted through an affiliate in completing the purchase, per the same account.
What is confirmed is the financing behind the deal. Keech obtained a CBRE Multifamily Capital loan for $29.4 million at the time of purchase, and CBRE Multifamily Capital then transferred that financing to the Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as Fannie Mae, the outlet notes.
From Fruit Dehydration Plant to Caltrain-Adjacent Housing
The Sunsweet complex sits on the former site of a fruit-packing and dehydration plant in downtown Morgan Hill that closed in 1987. Republic Urban Properties completed the current 83-unit building in 2020, according to the same report. The property is located across the street from the Morgan Hill Caltrain station, per siliconvalley.com.
Beyond housing, the complex carries roughly 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, anchored by restaurant and wine bar tenant Mohi Farm. That retail mix gives the redeveloped site a commercial identity distinct from the industrial use it replaced decades earlier.
More Housing on the Way in Morgan Hill and Gilroy
The Sunsweet sale lands as Morgan Hill faces additional housing pressure elsewhere in town. Carlsbad-based Mana Investments acquired the 58-acre Andy's Orchard property at 1615 Half Road and is proposing 376 housing units there, the same report states. An LLC linked to Mana Investments has applied to subdivide that property under California's Senate Bill 330.
Santa Clara County is preparing an environmental impact report for the Andy's Orchard project and plans to open a public comment period before the Planning Commission takes it up. If approved, the project could remove roughly 7,000 trees to make way for the new housing, according to the report.
Morgan Hill is under state-mandated pressure to plan for 1,037 new housing units by 2031, a target that helps explain why proposals like Andy's Orchard are moving forward despite the tree removal at stake. Nearby, the Gilroy City Council unanimously approved a Gandolfi Investments plan in 2025 to construct a 530-unit apartment and townhouse complex, adding to the broader wave of housing development sweeping South Santa Clara County.
