Former Silicon Valley Golf Course Prime For Redevelopment

A former San Jose golf course has hit the market for $125 million and could potentially transform into a large development, according to public records. The course is currently owned by the Duino Family, who have owned the property since the 1990s.

The family’s San Jose roots go back to Eddie Duino, who was a club pro at the San Jose Country Club. He earned the title as “PGA Golf Professional of the Year” in 1959.

The 114-acre former Pleasant Hill Golf Course is one of the largest remaining development sites in Silicon Valley, according to a marketing brochure by SP Commercial Real Estate. The listing states that the course is prime for redevelopment into a master-planned project.

The golf course, located at 2050-2079 South White Road, was closed in 2004 and was supported by the City of San Jose Planning Department for a large residential development. However, in 2008 the City Council tabled the development in order to revise the city’s general plan.

The property is situated directly across from the 160-acre regional Lake Cunningham Park and surrounded on three sides by single-family home developments. The course is also a 15-minute drive from San Jose.

Redeveloping golf courses could become easier with AB 1910, the proposed bill last year by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, which would give California cities financial incentives to build affordable housing on public golf courses.

The bill, which has the support of affordable housing advocates, doesn’t mandate cities, or golf courses, do anything. It aims to increase the state’s housing supply by establishing a program to offer grants to municipalities that decide to convert their public courses into housing. The bill also includes stipulations that at least 25 percent of the new units go to lower income households and that 15 percent of the land remains open space.

Another large housing project is working its way through the pipeline in San Jose. Rob Facchino, a developer whose family has worked in the business since the Silicon Valley boom in the 1980s, has proposed to build more than 800 homes and a commercial building near the Berryessa BART station in San Jose. The project also includes 455,000 square feet of commercial space for office or retail tenants, and a nearly one-acre park.