A seven-story apartment complex with 264 units has been proposed for the site of the former Century 24 domed movie theater in west San Jose, but the project's own developer is now challenging the city's approval of the plan. The San Jose Planning Commission is slated to consider that appeal on Wednesday.
The project would occupy a three-acre site at 741 South Winchester Boulevard, according to The Mercury News. Public records cited by the paper show Syufy Enterprises owns the property, where it once owned and operated the Century 24 theater before the complex was removed. A separate report from San Francisco YIMBY put the 2.97-acre property's boundaries between Riddle Road and Neal Avenue, with the old theater demolished in 2014.
Syufy Enterprises had floated a health club for the site in 2019, but the coronavirus outbreak undermined that plan the following year, per the Mercury News. SyRES Properties, described as a Syufy Enterprises real estate unit, later submitted new development plans for the site using a builder's remedy approach, a state-law mechanism that lets developers bypass certain local zoning rules in cities that haven't met state-mandated housing targets.
City Approves Plan, Then Developer Pushes Back
San Jose planning administrators approved the proposal in August, the newspaper reports. Glen Ceridono, an executive with SyRES Properties, appealed the city's approval just a few days later — an unusual twist in which the project's own applicant is contesting the terms the city set. The appeal seeks modifications to the development permit, though it does not ask to change the number of units, the building height, or the project's footprint, according to the Mercury News.
Instead, the dispute centers on timing. San Jose development permits normally carry a finite expiration date requiring a project to break ground within a set window, and the city could require the developer to restart the entire entitlement process if construction doesn't begin on schedule. Syufy Enterprises representatives have pushed for a provision that would let the applicant itself determine when final project approval occurred, based on the company's interpretation of state law, per the same account.
City staffers and legal officials have recommended that the Planning Commission uphold the approved development plans and deny the changes Syufy Enterprises is seeking. San Jose planning documents reviewed by the Mercury News state that the city favors keeping its proposed conditions in place, letting state law stand as written, and preventing entitlements from continuing indefinitely.
What the Building Would Look Like
Per the San Francisco YIMBY report from August, the roughly 85-foot-tall structure is expected to yield around 404,400 square feet, with a unit mix of 35 studios, 113 one-bedrooms, and 116 two-bedrooms. Parking would be provided for 356 cars and 66 bicycles. City staff granted the project an exemption from the state environmental review process, according to the outlet, and a CEQAnet filing lists a notice of exemption for the project dated August 24.
SyRES Properties is owned by Syufy Enterprises, the same outlet notes, and the estimated cost and timeline for construction have not yet been shared. An earlier version of the proposal, detailed in a 2023 San Francisco YIMBY report on the preliminary builder's remedy filing, described a podium-style complex designed by Lowney Architecture with a community room, outdoor space, a fitness center, and co-working space, along with roughly 20% of units designated as affordable — though it is not confirmed whether those specific features remain part of the current plan now headed to the Planning Commission.
Part of a Broader Pattern on Old Theater Sites
The Winchester Boulevard proposal fits into a wider trend of housing proposed on former domed-theater properties around San Jose. A 2023 Mercury News report found that several hundred homes might sprout at two San Jose sites where domed movie theaters once operated, including one at 5655 Gallup Drive near Blossom Hill Road. Wednesday's Planning Commission hearing will determine whether the Winchester Boulevard project moves forward under the city's original conditions or under terms more favorable to its developer.
