Fight versus blight makes progress at fire-scorched San Jose empty lot

SAN JOSE — Work crews are expected to complete by year’s end the cleanup of a notorious downtown San Jose eyesore whose fires, worsening blight and a gunshot attack have alarmed neighbors.

The blighted site is at the corner of North Fourth Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose. The outcome for the property could show the extent to which municipal officials are resolved to tackle eyesores in the Bay Area’s largest city.

Three blazes, a shooting, a dog attack, the accumulation of garbage and the discovery of hazardous materials on the property have coalesced to alarm San Jose officials who hope a court-appointed receiver will finally get the property cleaned up.

Eventually, the receiver might seize ownership of the property. That could result in the sale of the parcels to a new owner once the sites are fully cleaned up.

Several parcels at North Fourth Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose have become a full-blown eyesore due to steadily worsening blight woes.

San Jose has filed a lawsuit against South Bay business executive Brent Lee and two affiliates he heads up, RPRO152N3 LLC and Le Garden House LLC to remove the torched wood, debris, garbage and other materials on the parcels Lee owns through an affiliate, and then to eliminate the blight on the site.

Lee has expressed an interest in engaging in early settlement discussions with the city, San Jose City Attorney Nora Frimann stated in an email to this news organization.

This news organization reached out to Lee’s attorney, Melanie Griswold, through email, text and a phone call, to request a comment or context regarding the situation.

.A Santa Clara County judge scheduled a mediation or alternative dispute resolution hearing for March, Santa Clara County Superior Court records show. This means the city and Lee would engage in discussions before that hearing, Frimann said.

“The receiver is continuing the remediation and clean-up efforts in the meantime and currently is in the process of obtaining a demolition permit,” Frimann said in the email to this news organization.

The fire-scorched properties are at 100, 120, 146 and 152 North Fourth St., and 117 North Fifth St. For decades, the 146 and 152 North Fourth buildings were Victorian-era homes until they burned down this year.

Court papers show that problems and concerns spawned by the properties began to surface more than a half-decade ago. Neighbors began to raise warning flags in early 2018 about the sites, according to an amended lawsuit on file with the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

“In February 2018, the city’s Code Enforcement Division began investigating the 146 North Fourth property for blight as well as health and safety violations,” court papers state. “At the time of the initial inspection, the 146 North Fourth site was vacant with piles of solid waste and debris on the driveway and around the property.”

In 2021 and 2022, city inspectors found that individuals were using the two Victorian homes at 146 and 152 North Fourth as temporary shelters on multiple occasions. The city boarded up the residences, hoping to prevent entry.

The Lee-controlled affiliate had collected the parcels to accommodate a proposed 23-story housing tower with 298 units and ground-floor retail. The city approved that project, but construction never began.

Three fires have since broken out at the abandoned site.

The demolition permit for the parcels should clear the way for the final push to eliminate the blight on the property, according to the city attorney. The cleanup could occur by the end of this year.

“The clean-up crew should be ready to complete the blight removal next month,” Frimann said.