One of downtown San Jose’s biggest eyesores, the shuttered former Greyhound bus terminal, may finally be stirring back to life. The fenced-off, graffiti-covered gateway site has sat stalled for years while lawsuits, loan trouble and missed deadlines froze a major housing plan in place. A fresh $23 million financing package recorded this fall is the clearest sign yet that the property might actually be headed toward construction again.
The parcels changed hands this fall through a foreclosure tied to a delinquent loan, with a lender group led by developer Chris Jiashu Xu and business executive William Wang seizing control of the site, according to The Real Deal. That foreclosure wrapped up years of legal skirmishes in which China-based Z&L Properties filed bankruptcy cases and lawsuits in an effort to stop the sale. Court filings by the lenders say the new ownership group intends to build out the long-approved project rather than let the corner keep rotting behind plywood.
Financing Filed With County Recorder
County records show roughly $23 million in financing recorded on Nov. 26, with New Era Life Insurance Co., Philadelphia Life Insurance Co. and New Era Life Insurance Co. of the Midwest listed as lenders, as reported by The Mercury News. That figure is a far cry from the hundreds of millions of dollars typically required to finance two high-rise residential towers, which indicates this money is likely for acquisition or early predevelopment work. County filings and lender statements describe the loan structure as a way to stabilize the asset so the owners can chase a larger construction financing package or bring in a joint-venture partner.
Approved For Hundreds Of Units, Then Neglect
According to the City of San José’s planning files for the Greyhound Residential Project, the site already carries approvals for a two-tower housing development with roughly 708 units. Those entitlements include environmental review documents and a vesting tentative map, yet the dirt has never been turned. An affiliate of Z&L Properties later defaulted on a 2019 loan, and the property slipped into foreclosure, MT Real Estate Group and property records show.
“The vacant land at issue is a rotting, empty former Greyhound Station,” a lender wrote in a federal bankruptcy filing, according to The Real Deal. The filing argued that completing the foreclosure and putting the site under new control would clear the way for the city-approved project to proceed under different management.
Who Are The Lenders?
The Nov. 26 documents identify insurers tied to New Era Enterprises and Philadelphia Life as the sources of the new financing, per The Mercury News. New Era Enterprises, the parent company that oversees several small carriers, disclosed a data-security incident earlier this year in filings summarized on JD Supra. Insurance firms have increasingly become patient capital providers for urban land deals, and their involvement here suggests a willingness to sit tight through a long entitlement and financing process.
Why $23M Won’t Build Towers
The recorded loan is widely seen as a bridge to something much larger rather than the full construction budget. Putting up two residential towers in downtown San Jose typically requires layered construction loans and significant equity, so this initial financing is likely just the opening move. Local coverage and listings point out that any future lender or equity partner will have to decide whether to keep the existing approvals as-is or try to refresh them, a choice outlined in SFYIMBY’s discussion of project listings and permit history…