In another push to revitalize downtown San Jose + bring more housing, The Bank of Italy tower may soon be transformed into a residential development.

The historic landmark, located at 12 S. First St., is switching gears from its previous plans of office renovation to apartment units.

Let's take a look at how this 98-year-old tower may become the newest housing development in downtown.

The Bank of Italy tower hasn't gone under renovations for nearly 40 years. | Photo via History San José

San Jose's first skyscraper

Built in 1926, the 13-story tower is Silicon Valley’s oldest skyscraper and was the tallest building between SF + LA until the 1980s.

For most of its life, the tower was occupied by Bank of America (formerly Bank of Italy) — which kept its lease until around 1970. Since then, two banks have shuffled in + out, but the tower has mainly sat dormant in recent years.

When the tower was purchased in 2017, developers Urban Community + Westbank (in partnership with architecture firm Bjorke Ingels) went to work on high-scale renovations to draw tenants back into the office space.

New and improved

Now, instead of offices, the newest proposal envisions residential units on floors 2-12.

Previous plans also proposed an exterior spiral staircase with green features + ground floor retail, but those have been scaled back to make way for the following:

Garden + outdoor gathering areas
Rooftop restaurant
Upgrades to energy systems with the aim to make the tower "net zero"
Upper + lower floor penthouses

With its proximity to Fountain Alley, the developers hope to loop in local businesses to create a pedestrian-friendly, outdoor social area.

There's no word yet on a concrete construction timeline, but we'll keep an eye out for updates.