What is the Cambrian Park Plaza Redevelopment Plan?

For nearly 70 years, the sprawling Cambrian Park Plaza shopping center has occupied the corner of Union and Camden avenues in Cambrian Park San Jose, serving as a sort of gateway to the neighborhood. Now, a complete redevelopment of the decades-old, underutilized property is in the works.

The Proposed Project

The proposed Cambrian Village plan is a mixed-use project designed by developers who invited and received considerable input from the community. The 18-acre site will combine ground-level retail spaces with residential units above and green space tied in. It's meant to give the area something it so far has lacked: a central downtown-type area.

Cambrian real estate trends show that it's a high-demand area to live in, but surrounding neighborhoods Willow Glen, Los Gatos, and Campbell all have hubs where people can come together. The goal is for Cambrian Village to provide a sort of "main street" area that's walkable, pet- and bike-friendly, and that will add available housing to the market.

Weingarten Realty launched the project in 2015 when it purchased the property. Though Weingarten has since been acquired by Kimco Realty, the Weingarten team has been retained to continue its work on the redevelopment.

The proposed project will include:

• Four acres of open public space, including a park with an amphitheater
• Building 1 - Mixed-use that will include 305 podium apartments and more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, situated around a community plaza with underground parking
• Building 2 - A 229-room hotel with underground parking and restaurant decks facing the central park
• Building 3 - A 110-bed assisted-living facility and 50 independent living units, connected to the central park, with underground parking
• Housing consisting of 25 townhomes along Union Avenue and 48 single-family homes near current residences, 27 of which will have accessory dwelling units
• Raised bike lanes along Union Avenue and 207 bike parking spaces

The intersection of Camden and Union will remain a prominent location visibly, with a central promenade and unique architecture. The iconic carousel that currently sits atop the shopping plaza's decades-old sign will be retained and incorporated into the new project. Mixing the old with the new, planners hope to turn outdated infrastructure and underdeveloped land into a town center that everyone can enjoy.

Recent Trends in Cambrian Park

The planned housing units should be welcome news to the neighborhood. If you've followed the Cambrian real estate trends in recent years, you know that like much of the San Jose market, the inventory of homes for sale in Cambrian Park has been lacking at times. Low inventory, especially in 2020 and 2021, dramatically drove prices upward.

Real estate professionals use "days of inventory" (DOI) as a metric that considers current sales rates and the market's direction. In the first quarter of 2022, Cambrian had a DOI of 18, meaning it would take just 18 days at the current speed of sales to sell all the homes on the market. It reflects a very strong sellers' market, caused by high demand and low supply.

At the end of Q1 2022, the average sales price in Cambrian was $1,982,470, 36 percent higher than a pre-pandemic price peak in the fall of 2018. The average sales price to listing price ratio was 124 percent, which means that the average home sold for 24 percent above its asking price. Multiple offers on homes for sale are the norm.

It's no real surprise Cambrian Park is desirable to home buyers. Because of its proximity to major highways, it appeals to Silicon Valley tech workers. It's also known for its tree-lined streets and very suburban feel. Now, it will also finally have a modern-day town center.

Work with a Realtor who Knows the Local Market

If you’re looking for a real estate agent in Cambrian, Blossom Valley or the Almaden neighborhoods of San Jose contact Theresa Wellman. She provides expert guidance for both home buyers and sellers and has received very high ratings from many clients she has worked with. If you’re thinking about buying or selling home check the free home buyer or free home seller reports on her site.