SAN JOSE — “Downtown Food Hall” signs have sprouted for the first time on the sides of a historic San Jose building, fresh indicators of progress for a stealth real estate project being crafted by an Uber co-founder.
Even as the signs adorn the former Odd Fellows Building near the corner of East Santa Clara Street and South Third Street in downtown San Jose, glimpses inside the building reveal ongoing work by contractors behind covers that largely block views through the big windows in the old structure.
From time to time in recent days and months, construction workers have been spotted walking in and out of side doors and alleyways leading to the interior of the historic building.
During times when gaps appeared in the coverings, stainless steel cooking and washing stations were visible through the windows. For the most part, however, the construction remains clandestine and hidden from view.
About a month ago, DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats logos suddenly appeared on the sides of the Odd Fellows building, a prominent structure built in 1885 with addresses ranging from 82 through 96 East Santa Clara Street and 17 South Third Street.
Now, those logos have vanished and have been replaced by two big signs — apparently permanent — that proclaim “San Jose’s Downtown Food Hall,” a dramatic change that surfaced in recent days.
One of the “Downtown Food Hall” signs faces East Santa Clara Street and the other faces South Third Street. Also on Third Street is another sign that states “food pickup.”
Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former chief executive officer of the ride-hailing company Uber, is the chief executive officer of CloudKitchens, a ghost kitchens firm that is developing the project inside the building.
Over the decades, the property has been a boxing gym, an Odd Fellows hall and a furniture store. Now, it’s poised to be the site of a cutting-edge commercial kitchen venture.
In 2018, a real estate venture led by Kalanick paid $7.3 million for the historic building, documents on file at the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.
At the time of the purchase, Goldman Sachs, an investment firm, provided $100 million in financing to the group headed up by Kalanick. The wording in the public loan documents, however, suggested that the funding could be used at sites other than the downtown San Jose project.
Scant details exist, even in San Jose planning documents, about the upcoming ghost kitchens inside the historic building.
The public filings that do exist have revealed some details about what the project might offer once it opens.
The proposed food hall will include an estimated 26 kitchens, according to documents on file with city planners.
The project also features a dine-in restaurant that will total about 1,000 square feet and a coffee bar next to the dining establishment, the city planning documents show.
The downtown food hall would be on the ground floor, according to the proposal.
The “San Jose’s Downtown Food Hall” signs are consistent with what the Kalanick-led CloudKitchens venture has filed with city planners.
The food hall signs also evoke memories of the retro look of the sign for the former furniture store that was a decades-long fixture in downtown San Jose until the retailer closed its doors a few years ago.
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