Santa Clara Seeks a Developer to Rebuild Its Lost Downtown: 300 Homes, a Food Hall and a Re-Created Theater

Santa Clara is asking developers to pitch a project for 4.83 acres of city-owned land at 900 and 1000 Lafayette Street, a long-planned step toward giving the city a walkable downtown again.

The city opened the request for proposals at the end of September and says the project is meant to "catalyze" the transformation of downtown into a destination. The site covers most of two blocks in Santa Clara's Downtown Precise Plan, adopted after years of community meetings.

What the city wants built

• At least 300 homes, with 25% set aside for low-income households: for 55 years if they are rentals, 45 years if they are for sale.
• A two-story food and beverage hall.
• A town square and arts plaza, plus a cultural arts space.
• A theater re-creating the historic Santa Clara Theater.
• Ground-floor retail, parking for residents and shoppers, and extra parking for the rest of downtown.
• Extensions of Franklin and Washington streets through the site.

Because the land is public, the deal has to comply with California's Surplus Land Act, which generally favors affordable housing when governments sell or lease property. The 25% affordability requirement follows an exemption in that law.

How the selection works

The process has two rounds. In the first, teams submit a preliminary vision, list of amenities, qualifications and proof of financial capacity. A mandatory in-person pre-proposal conference is set for Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the American Legion hall, 958 Homestead Road. Proposals are due Jan. 14, 2027, at 3 p.m. through BidNet Direct, according to the solicitation listing.

Finalists will then submit detailed site plans, renderings, leasing plans and financials, and the City Council will pick the developer.

Why it matters

The city has spent years planning how to bring back a traditional downtown center, and the Silicon Valley Business Journal described the Lafayette Street site as the flagship of that effort. For South Bay renters, it also means a few hundred new homes on land the city already owns, though construction is years away.