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Signia by Hilton San Jose

Coordinates: 37°19′59″N 121°53′20″W / 37.33305°N 121.88898°W / 37.33305; -121.88898
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Signia by Hilton San Jose
The hotel from Plaza de César Chávez (left); on the right, former annex
Map
Hotel chainHilton Hotels and Resorts
General information
LocationUnited States
Address170 South Market Street
San Jose, California 95113
Coordinates37°19′59″N 121°53′20″W / 37.33305°N 121.88898°W / 37.33305; -121.88898
Opening1987; reopened 2022
CostUS$140 million
OwnerSam Hirbod and associates[1]
Height252 feet (77 m)[2]
Technical details
Floor count22
Floor areaMeetings: 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, Nishkian Menninger
Other information
Number of rooms500
Number of suites42
Parkinggarage
Website
www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sjcsmsa-signia-san-jose/

The Signia by Hilton San Jose is a postmodern high-rise hotel at 170 South Market Street in San Jose, California, located on the Plaza de César Chávez in Downtown San Jose. Constructed in 1987 as the Fairmont San Jose, it reopened as a Hilton hotel in 2022. The former south tower of the hotel is now a student residence for San Jose State University, Spartan Village on the Paseo.

Description

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The hotel is a 22-story tower designed in postmodern style by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum with Nishkian Menninger as structural engineers,[3] with 500 rooms and 42 suites.[4] It includes 65,000 square feet of meeting space, including a large ballroom. There is a fitness center and a rooftop swimming pool and deck[5] with a specially designed windscreen to create a microclimate designed to be acceptable for sunbathing and swimming.

History

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Main entrance, 2017

The hotel stands on the site of San Jose's first Chinese enclave, the Market Street Chinatown, which existed from 1866 until its destruction by arson in 1887. A plaque on the hotel's exterior commemorates the racist attack.[6] The hotel was planned in the 1980s as part of an urban renewal project funded by the Redevelopment Agency of San Jose, which also included the Silicon Valley Financial Center and Circle of Palms Plaza; it was developed by The Swig Company.[7][8] Construction led to a hasty salvage excavation of artifacts from the former Chinatown.[9]

The hotel opened on October 5, 1987 as the Fairmont San Jose, part of the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts chain.[7] It was purchased in 1996 by Light Tower Associates, led by developer Lewis Wolff.[10] In 2002, a 13-story, 264-room annex opened.[10] Designed by Gensler and Associates and Moore Ruble Yudell Architects,[11][12] This second tower was built on the site of the historic Hotel Montgomery, which was moved 186 feet (57 m) to the south and restored;[13] it is now the Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown hotel.[14] In January 2018, the Fairmont San Jose was sold to SJ SC Holdings, an investment group led by Eagle Canyon Capital.[10]

On March 5, 2021, FMT SJ LLC, the then owner, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, closing the hotel while it sought a new management partner and extended the existing mortgage debt. The owner stated that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, occupancy had been less than 7%, and the hotel had lost at least $18 million in 2020 and was projected to lose at least another $20 million in 2021.[15][16][17]

The hotel reopened in April 2022 as Signia by Hilton San Jose, a Hilton property with 805 rooms.[1][5][18] The owners subsequently downsized, vacating the south tower annex and selling it in 2023 to Throckmorton Partners, a developer. That tower was converted the following year into a residence for San Jose State University students, Spartan Village on the Paseo,[19] which opened in August 2024. The university is leasing the building for 25 months and will then purchase it.[20]

On October 31, 2024, workers at the Signia ratified new labor contracts.[21][22] This occurred in the aftermath of a three day strike which took place at the Signia over the 2024 Labor Day weekend in September.[21][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b George Avalos (May 19, 2024). "Big hotel offers downtown San Jose economic boost, jobs, meeting hub". The Mercury News. San Jose, California.
  2. ^ "Signia by Hilton San Jose". SkyscraperPage.
  3. ^ "Fairmont Hotel (San Jose, 1987)". Structurae. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Fairmont Hotel, San Jose". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ a b "Signia by Hilton San Jose accepting reservations for April 25, 2022 and beyond". Hospitality.net. February 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Doug Duran; Sal Pizarro; Anda Chu (October 6, 2021). "Photos: San Jose holds ceremony to apologize to the Chinese community for past wrongs". The Mercury News. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Barry Witt (August 15, 2016) [October 7, 2007]. "Fairmont Hotel lifted San Jose's image". East Bay Times.
  8. ^ "San Jose Fairmont Hotel". The Swig Company. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011.
  9. ^ Barbara Voss; Anita Wong Kwock; Connie Young Yu; Lillian Gong-Guy; Alida Bray; Megan S. Kane (2013). "Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project: ten years of community-based, collaborative research on San Jose's historic Chinese community". Chinese America: History and Perspectives: 63–74 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
  10. ^ a b c George Avalos (January 3, 2018). "San Jose's iconic Fairmont hotel has traded hands for $223.5 million". The Mercury News.
  11. ^ "Fairmont Hotel Annex (San Jose, 2002)". Structurae. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "Fairmont Hotel Annex, San Jose". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ "Joie de Vivre Hospitality Opens the Restored Montgomery Hotel in Downtown San Jose 93 Years After Original Opening". Hospitality.net (press release). July 12, 2004.
  14. ^ "Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown". Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "CASE SUMMARY: Owner of Fairmont San Jose RSA Sets Up Search for New Hotel Operator Willing to Provide at Least $45M in New Mezz Funding". reorg.com. 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  16. ^ "Iconic San Jose Fairmont Files for Bankruptcy, Shuts Down Till Summer". NBC News Bay Area. Bay City News. March 8, 2021 [March 6, 2021]. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  17. ^ Lauren Hernández (March 7, 2021). "San Jose Fairmont Hotel files for bankruptcy and closes, will seek new brand, management". San Francisco Chronicle.
  18. ^ Ryan Fernandez (March 14, 2022). "Signia by Hilton San Jose, Downtown San Jose's biggest hotel, sets April reopening date". Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  19. ^ George Avalos (February 2, 2024). "San Jose State University student housing tower gets official name". Silicon Valley.com.
  20. ^ Roland Li (August 15, 2024). "This Bay Area city converted a hotel into housing for almost 700 students — in just nine months". San Francisco Chronicle.
  21. ^ a b [1]
  22. ^ Mater, Noelle (November 1, 2024). "Hotel labor disputes resolve in Boston, San Jose". Hotel Dive. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  23. ^ Vera, Vicente (September 4, 2024). "Failed contract prompts San Jose hotel worker strike". San Jose Spotlight. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
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