One East Julian | San Jose, CA

On East Julian Street in San Jose, a small site offered limited room for new housing. Regis Homes of California set out to make the most of it, pursuing a residential building that would add 43 homes and give the street a welcoming, neighborhood-scaled face.

The central test was space. Fitting the required parking onto a compact parcel threatened to limit how many homes could be built. The solution was a parking stacking system in the garage, allowing more units on the small site while still providing the required number of stalls. Above it, the Type V over Type I building organizes flats with stoops along the street frontage and townhouse units accessed from a podium-level interior courtyard. BDE Architecture served as Architect of Record, collaborating with Seidel Holzman as Design Architect to carry the project through.

The outcome is a brick and stucco clad building that brings homes to the sidewalk. Stoops connect residents directly to the street, while the interior courtyard gives townhouse residents a shared place of their own, showing how careful planning can unlock more housing on a constrained urban lot.

Address: 1 East Julian St, San Jose, CA, 95112

Client: Regis Homes of California

Number of Units: 43

Construction Type: V / I

Modern multi-story building at dusk with illuminated windows and a mix of brick and white exterior, located at the corner of a city street with trees, streetlights, and traffic signals.

Modern apartment building with white exterior walls, large windows, and outdoor stairways leading to entrances. Small landscaped areas with bushes in black planters are along the sidewalk, under a clear blue sky.

Open-concept kitchen and dining area with a round table, beige chairs, white vase with flowers, dark wood cabinets, kitchen island with stools, and modern lighting fixtures.