Thursday, 1.24.2019
Volume 152 No. 1 WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
Buildings to be demolished for Sparta student housing
A&E
By Vicente Vera NEWS EDITOR
Downtown San Jose resident Mary Cruz spends most of her day walking around the neighborhood with her grandson while his father works at the gas station across the street from the house she is renting. They stopped at the light and once it turned green, her grandson crossed the street to meet his father at the end of his shift. On her way home, she walked over to a set of development proposal signs that were placed on the corner of her street. She pointed at the signs. “The city’s been wanting to build this thing for a few years now,” Cruz said. Ho r i z o n Real Properties Holding purchased land on East Santa Clara Street, which included Cruz’s backyard, to establish Sparta Student Housing. The 86 room student housing complex would hold up to 271 residents. According to Michael Hopek of the Bay Area real estate publication The Registry, the developers of the land plan to house 171 San Jose State University students. Cruz has been living in one of the smaller
Is rock and roll music really dead? Page 3
Opinion
VICENTE VERA | SPARTAN DAILY
A notice of development proposal sign sits on the corner of 11th and East Santa Clara streets next to the buildings that are planned to be demolished.
houses behind the proposed development for the past 20 years on a fixed income. She said she is afraid her house could one day be sold and demolished, though the city has made no plans to facilitate the removal of any existing residential housing. Although the city council had not officially adopted a development plan in that area until last October, it approved the demolition of three commercial buildings along East Santa Clara Street almost two
It’s especially important for these kids to have housing nearby since their main focus should be school, not struggling to find a place to live. Paul Gooch Neighborhood resident
years ago. The buildings still stand. However, they could be demolished as soon as Horizon Real P ro p e r t i e s Holding obtains a
building permit. Sparta Student Housing was allowed to be developed ahead of an official development plan because the city classified it as a
“signature” project. According to the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan, a “signature” project serves as an example for future developments in San Jose. The buildings set to be demolished were home to five separate small businesses which include a Chinese takeout restaurant, a drug store and a nail salon. Cher yl Wessling, communications manager for the San Jose DEVELOPMENT | Page 2
Longest U.S. shutdown must end now Page 4
Sports
Men’s track team ignites the flame Page 6
A.S. house wheels off to other side of campus By Jana Kadah MANAGING EDITOR
The 200-ton Associated Students House has found its new home on the edge of campus near the Boccardo Business Center. The 20th century building, also known as the Scheller House, has been restored and moved repeatedly over the past few decades to make room for San Jose State renovations. This time it was to make space for a new science building set to be built in front of Duncan Hall. “This building is being moved so that we can celebrate the past but really enhance the future by putting our new science building on this location,” said SJSU’s Vice President of Administration and Finance Charlie Faas. “It’s going to be a stunning new building and we get to preserve the beauty of the old building.” After more than a year of planning with Associated Students, Pacific Gas & Electric and the city of San Jose, SJSU faculty paid attention to every single detail. “A.S. has worked with the university and the Preser vation Action Council through this
I think it was very important that [the school] preserves the house rather than destroying it.
Grace Ping Director of external affairs for Associated Students
FAAS process,” said Grace Pang, director of external affairs for Associated Students. “I think it was very important that [the school] preserves the house rather than destroying it.” A team of engineers created computer models of the move. Light fixtures were rotated, the Boyce gates were temporarily removed and trees were trimmed to ensure the 6,500 square-foot house could set sail on the streets of downtown. “Literally there was
four inches on either side of that house as we were moving it down San Carlos on our campus in between those palm trees,” said Faas. “It was very tight.” The move cost nearly $1.5 million according to Faas, but it was incorporated into the budget for the new science building. Faas said he worked closely with the MIKE CORPOS | SPARTAN DAILY Preser vation Action Council of San Jose to The A.S. house, also known as the Scheller House is taken off its foundation to be ensure there were no placed on wheels and driven to the east side of campus on 10th Street. ruffled feathers over the house from 1905-15. buildings on South First Jeremy Fogel granted the move. “It didn’t work 20 years The home is one of the Street, according to the an injunction to halt the demolition of the ago with the historical last remaining early 20th Mercury News. When then-SJSU Scheller house until its folks in San Jose,” said century residential works Faas. “So we made sure according to research by president Bob Caret tried historic value could be they knew what was going the Preservation Action to level the house in determined, according to the early 1990s to make the Mercury News. on, how it was being Council of San Jose. The house was space for a new science Rather than conduct done, the care that was happening, so everything designed by architect building, the Preservation an expensive historical L e n z e n Action Council of San survey, Caret decided came together frankly for T h e o d ore who also designed the Jose was quick to call to scrap plans for the new a huge success.” The house takes its old City Hall that was it a violation of state science building and the Scheller House stayed in name after early San Jose initially at Plaza de Cesar preservation law. In 1994, Santa Clara District Attorney, Victor Chavez. He also crafted MOVE | Page 2 Scheller, who lived in the Security and Letitia County federal judge