Downtown San Jose retail building may become vet center, pet daycare

SAN JOSE — A long-time retail building in downtown San Jose has been bought in a deal that clears the way for its transformation into a pet care and kennel complex.

The store and warehouse at the corner of North First Street and Devine Street in downtown San Jose has been bought for $2.2 million by a Bay Area veterinarian who wants to turn the property into a site to care for pets.

Elevated view of 260 North First Street, a retail building in downtown San Jose near Devine Street, showing a nearby neighborhood. (Meacham Oppenheimer)

The building, located at 260 North First Street in San Jose, was bought by an affiliate controlled by Gurjeet Ghumman, who is a veterinarian operating in Mountain View, according to documents filed on Dec. 29 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

“The buyer wants to convert this to a veterinary hospital with overnight care and pet daycare,” said David Taxin, a partner with Meacham Oppenheimer, a commercial real estate firm. Meacham Oppenheimer brokers Taxin and Jeremy Awdisho arranged the property deal.

Retail building at 260 North First Street in downtown San Jose near Devine Street. (Meacham Oppenheimer)

The just-bought property is the long-time site of Workingman’s Emporium, a store that provides uniforms and other clothing for blue-collar workers.

“A pet care center could work there with all of the housing located in downtown San Jose,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.

That appears to be the reasoning behind the property deal, in Taxin’s view. The housing has brought more potential customers for an array of businesses in downtown San Jose.

“The new owner thinks there is a good market for this downtown when you see all of the people who are coming into the downtown,” Taxin said.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the new pet care center might begin operations.

The property consists of a building and attached warehouse that together total about 7,900 square feet. The site also has several surface parking spaces, according to a marketing brochure that Meacham Oppenheimer prepared.

The building is located on a choice site near two light rail stops and St. James Park in downtown San Jose.

The property also has economic advantages. These include, according to the brochure, “strong demographics with household incomes in excess of $125,000 in a two-mile radius.”

The site was listed for sale at a price that was just under $2.5 million, the marketing brochure states.

“The buyer got a good price,” Taxin said. “It was an attractive deal. Things are pretty good right now for the owner-user market.”