Orchard Commercial, a real-estate management company in San Jose, California, needed some case studies for their website. This is one of several that I wrote.
St. James Plaza
The century-old St. James Plaza in downtown San Jose began life as a Masonic Scottish Rite temple. After decades of use as business offices, the stunning nine-story glass-and-brick building began losing tenants to newer commercial complexes due to management neglect and aging infrastructure. By 2006, when Embarcadero Capital Partners, LLC, purchased the building, occupancy had declined to 20 percent. The new owners redesigned the main lobby and common areas, defined a project plan to update the mechanical infrastructure, and in 2008, hired Orchard Commercial to manage the property.
