Location Plus View

San Jose's new condo tower aims for urban lifestyles

By David Silva

Although Mesa Development Co.'s 23-story luxury condominium project in San Jose would undergo several name changes before construction started in February, company executives were firm in at least one regard:

The 503,498-sq-ft development would have the words "Three Sixty" in the title, and not just because its address is 360 S. Market St.

"We went as high as you can in San Jose," says Charles Young, Mesa's director of development of the 265-ft-high building.

"What people tend to undervalue in San Jose are views, and we have views on all sides of the development -- 360 degrees. If you look to the south, east, west or north, what you see are views of the mountains, or the city, or the valleys. With the lifestyle of the building, the location in the midst of the ongoing renaissance of San Jose, and, then, the view, we really think we have a special project here."

By "lifestyle," Young referred to both the location of the project, which Mesa finally decided to call Three Sixty Residences, and its many upscale amenities.

Residents of Three Sixty will find themselves smack in the middle of the downtown San Jose "renaissance" - an ongoing construction boom that has brought dozens of cultural and high-end retail and residential developments to the city center. Along with easy access to the San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose Convention Center and the Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, Three Sixty also sports concierge and doorman service, heated outdoor pool, landscaped courtyard, a 244-stall parking facility, meeting rooms and a rooftop fitness center.

Chicago-based Mesa Development recently opened an office in San Jose to supervise construction of the project.

Three Sixty will add 213 residential units to San Jose's severely inadequate stock of available housing. The units include 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom floor plans, and six penthouses on the 22nd and 23rd floors.

The project is scheduled for completion in April 2009. Bovis Lend Lease of New York is the general contractor. Chicago-based Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates is the architect.

According to project architect Chadd Harrison of Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the firm initially planned to use limestone as the building's primary material, but opted for glass-fiber reinforced concreted (GFRC) instead because of cost constraints.

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"The majority material is GFRC panels - basically pre-cast concrete with a backing in order to make larger panels," says Harrison. "We've tried to mimic our stone colors with GFRC colors by using additives in our pre-cast concrete. The first 20 feet of the building is limestone.

"We had to be careful with our choice of colors: When you design with GFRC and stone, you have to allow for seismic movement. We strategically placed seismic joints on the building to align with other elements on the building, and added reveals to mask the joints."

Mesa plans a 7,000-sq-ft "full-concept home sale center" this month at the Fairmont Hotel Annex in San Jose, says Young.

"The center will include a two-bedroom-plus-den, two and a half-bath unit," he says. "Any buyer can come in and see exactly what their home will look like."

The Project Team

Developer: Mesa Development Co. of Chicago
General Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease of New York
Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates of Chicago

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