A sprawling car sales and service complex, complete with its own gas station, could soon take the place of a retail strip near Westfield Oakridge mall in South San Jose. Plans on file at City Hall call for the project at 942 through 968 Blossom Hill Road, where a retail center and gas station currently sit at the southeast corner of Blossom Hill Road and Winfield Boulevard.
The proposed dealership is expected to total 175,400 square feet, according to The Mercury News. The project proposal calls for demolishing the existing retail building to make way for the vehicle sales and service complex, the outlet reports. That building has in the past housed tenants including Big 5 Sporting Goods, Mattress Nation and Leslie's Pool Supplies.
What Stays, What Goes, What's Still Unknown
Not everything on the site is on the chopping block. The proposal excludes the adjacent Olive Garden restaurant building, per city planning documents cited by the same outlet, meaning the restaurant appears set to remain even as the retail center around it is razed. The fate of the existing gas station is murkier: its future status, whether it would remain, be renovated, or be replaced, has not been determined, according to the report.
Property records help explain how the different pieces of the site fit together. Perusina Winfield Family LP is listed in Santa Clara County real estate files as the owner of three parcels at the location, including the retail center, gas station and the adjacent Olive Garden building, The Mercury News reports.
Part Of A Bigger Bay Area Pattern
The Blossom Hill Road project fits into a broader shift playing out across the region, where a growing number of large commercial properties that once housed Walmart, Kohl's, Fry's and other chain stores are finding new life, according to eastbaytimes.com. Commercial real estate executives have singled out the Blossom Hill Road corridor itself as one of the strongest retail areas in California, per that outlet.
The pressure behind that trend comes down to simple math: rising development and construction costs mean retail demand is outpacing the supply of new space, with executives warning that demand will swamp supply as available inventory keeps shrinking, eastbaytimes.com reports.
South San Jose already has a few examples of that reuse pattern nearby. Altitude Trampoline, Ace Pickleball Club and City Sports Club now occupy a former Walmart building near Monterey Road and Blossom Hill Road, while Dick's Sporting Goods is redeveloping a former Home Depot site on Blossom Hill Road into an experience-oriented House of Sports. Elsewhere in the city, Vallarta Supermarkets is taking over a spot at The Plant shopping center where Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us once operated, according to the same report.
A September 20, 2021 meeting notice from the City of San Jose concerned a development proposal at 1007 Blossom Hill Road.
