A hardware store that sat empty for years in South San Jose is on track to become a Sprouts Farmers Market and a childcare center, under a proposal now headed to the San Jose City Council. The 44,600-square-foot building at 5651 Cottle Road operated as an Orchard Supply Hardware store for roughly 36 years before it closed in 2018, and the site has sat vacant in the years since.
The project is headed to the San Jose City Council for a final public hearing scheduled for September 15, according to the City of San Jose's municipal calendar. As The Mercury News reports, the plan calls for a Sprouts supermarket, while a proposed Goddard Preschool would occupy approximately 21,000 square feet.
The site includes a large surface parking lot, and The Mercury News notes Sprouts could potentially employ 90 to 125 workers at the location once it opens.
What's Changing on the 4.3-Acre Site
The existing vacant building is part of the proposed project.
The proposed Goddard School is also part of the plan, per the same city filings.
Filling a Void Left by a San Jose Institution
Orchard Supply Hardware carries a deep local history. Its South San Jose store closed in 2018.
The future Sprouts would add another grocery option in South San Jose.
A Familiar Playbook for the Developer
Dollinger Properties bought the property.
If the project moves forward, it would add a Sprouts location at the South San Jose site. The proposal would put the store in San Jose. The chain's South Bay expansion hasn't been without setbacks, though — Sprouts closed stores in Fremont and Mountain View in a 2022 Hoodline report. The closures came as the stores reached the end of their leases and nearby stores were close; in Mountain View, nearby Safeway and Whole Foods were cited as competition.
Whether the South San Jose store moves forward may hinge on how it performs against nearby grocery retailers. For now, the project's fate rests with the San Jose City Council, which is set to hold its final public hearing on September 15.
