NYC real estate firm gains full control of big chunk of San Jose land

A section of vacant land totaling about 115 acres near the corner of Yerba Buena Road and Old Yerba Buena Road in south San Jose.

SAN JOSE — An East Coast real estate firm has taken full ownership of a huge chunk of land in south San Jose, but it’s unclear if the property will ever be developed.

DLJ Real Estate Partners, acting through an affiliate, has bought about 115 acres in south San Jose near the corner of Yerba Buena Road and old Yerba Buena Road.

New York City-based DLJ Real Estate paid $5 million for the vacant land, documents filed on Nov. 29 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.

Before the property purchase, San Mateo-based Legacy Partners, Chicago-based Walton Street Capital and DLJ Real Estate all had ownership stakes in the property.

With the transaction complete, DLJ’s affiliate is the sole owner of the property, the county documents show.

It is uncertain that any property owner will be allowed to develop the vacant land.

About two decades ago in 2000, a prior owner, Syntex, floated plans to develop large industrial buildings on the site. Those plans never came to fruition and the property wasn’t developed.

Now, proposals are being circulated at San Jose City Hall to change the property’s zoning to open space, a designation that could preclude any sort of massive development, or even a low-density project, on the site.