November 13, 2007

Judge blocks razing IBM’s Building 25

Will big box retailer Lowe’s ever be built in south San Jose ?

By Sean Eastwood
Staff writer

The city council voted in June to topple the former IBM Building 25 to make way for a proposed Lowe's Home Improvement Center, but Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols recently overturned that decision.

The structure, which has been vacant since 1996, is located at Cottle and Poughkeepsie roads and was the birthplace of the flying head disc drive.

The decision to overturn the city council was made after The Preservation Action Council filed a lawsuit charging that San Jose did not fully evaluate alternatives, which is required under the California Environmental Quality Act.

This is the second time PAC has sued San Jose to save Building 25. Local groups such as the Preservation Action Council of San Jose and the Historic Landmarks Commission have been working to save Building 25 since 2003, when Lowe's announced its intention to demolish the building for a new store. Preservationists won a lawsuit against San Jose in 2003 to stop the demolition and brought the issue before the San Jose City Council to discuss alternatives.

San Jose is in need of sales tax revenue so the city council is eager to back a plan by IBM to allow Lowe's to build its 180,000-square-foot store on the site. The city could realize as much as $500,000 in annual sales tax from the big box home improvement center.

While some hailed the judge's decision, arguing that Lowe's could still build a successful business while preserving the building, others, including San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, say Building 25 must go.

"Building 25 has little merit and it would be very expensive to move,” said Reed. Lowe’s argues that there will not be enough parking if the building is allowed to stay on the site.

Susan Brandt-Hawley, an attorney for the Preser-vation Action Council is in favor of some compromise in keeping the building. She says they are many options that would allow this project to go forward.

According to the En-vironmental Impact Report (FEIR), the building "has been determined to qualify as a Candidate City Land-mark under the city’s Historic Preservation Ordi-nance, and has been determined eligible for listing on the state and national registers." It also states that demolition of Building 25 would create significant impacts to historic resources.

Will Lowe's move forward with the project? Without some sort of compromise, no one knows for sure. Stay tuned.