190 N 3rd St
190 N 3rd St is a 6-story building in Downtown San Jose with 78% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 123 homes and scores it 69 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CA-18 · Screened 2026-09-12 · Worth a feasibility study
Also addressed as 196 N 3rd St: San Jose’s address records place both on this one footprint.
Where 190 N 3rd St is
Its block in Downtown San Jose, drawn from San Jose's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 190 N 3rd St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Every floor carries 6,401 sq ft of windowless core — area that must be gutted, seismically braced and sprinklered but can never be rented as an apartment. Across 5 residential floors that is 32,006 sq ft of cost carrying no revenue.
Modeled conversion metrics for 190 N 3rd St, 2026-09-12.
| Suitability scoreWorth a feasibility study | 69 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 77 ft LiDAR height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 6 |
| Floor plateper floor, from the city footprint | 29,483 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 78% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 69 ft |
| Windowless coreper floor — renovated but never rentable | 6,401 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 123 |
| Conversion cost$405/sq ft all-in on 147,414 sq ft | $59.7M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $7.4M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $7.4M |
| BuiltSan Jose does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningDowntown San Jose | DC |
| Opportunity Zonecensus tract 06085501000, 2018 designation | Yes |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
35 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 873 ft of exterior wall, and across 5 residential floors the building carries 4,363 ft of it in total, divided among the 123 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.49: a squarish plan, with enough perimeter for a conventional double-loaded corridor. How window line and plate shape are measured.
At the model’s 750 sq ft average, the plan works out at about 24.6 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 190 N 3rd St scores 69 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 77, Interior depth 28, Scale 82, Finance 100 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 190 N 3rd St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency78% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 77 | 45% | 34.5 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 69 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 28 | 25% | 7.0 |
| Scale123 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 82 | 15% | 12.3 |
| Financeremaining gap is 0% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is interior depth, at 28 out of 100: deepest interior point 69 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft.
What the conversion would cost
$405 per square foot all-in across 147,414 sq ft of converted floor, or $59.7M in total — about $485K for each of the 123 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 190 N 3rd St: base cost plus the code work a change of use triggers.
| Base conversion cost | $260/sq ft |
|---|---|
| Seismic retrofit (change of use) | $45/sq ft |
| Plumbing risers to every unit | $40/sq ft |
| Operable windows and glazing | $30/sq ft |
| Additional egress stair | $18/sq ft |
| Fire sprinklers (NFPA 13R) | $12/sq ft |
| All-in | $405/sq ft |
That cost is charged across every converted square foot, including the 32,006 sq ft of windowless core, which has to be gutted, seismically braced and sprinklered like the rest of the building and then earns nothing. Against it the model sets a completed value of $425K a home, which for 123 homes is $52.3M.
What would have to be true
A $7.4M gap before any grant, $48K after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: completed value per home under 1% up.
The shortfall before any grant is $7.4M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 123 homes finishing at $485K rather than the $425K the model assumes — 14% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $405 to $355 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $7.4M moves that threshold to $425K a home. That is still above the $425K assumed, leaving $48K uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 190 N 3rd St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 190 N 3rd St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Completed value per homethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | under 1% upto $425K |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | under 1% downto $260/sq ft |
| Average unit size | 1% downto 745 sq ft |
| Circulation efficiency | 1% upto 81% |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 190 N 3rd St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Downtown San Jose
190 N 3rd St ranks 39th of the 82 buildings screened here, against a median score of 64.
Its floor plate is better lit than 59% of them, and shallower than 46% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 67th largest by estimated homes. The full survey of all 82 buildings ranks and maps every one of them, and the list by address links each to its own page.
Within the DC zone
33rd of 72 zoned DC — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
72 of the screened buildings are zoned DC. 190 N 3rd St ranks 33rd of them against a median score of 61. 31 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 68 ft from a facade against this building’s 69 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 23,276 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1 Almaden Blvd, at 100.
Its nearest match in size: 100 E Santa Clara St
The screened building closest to 190 N 3rd St in converted floor area is 100 E Santa Clara St: 132,842 sq ft over 6 stories, against 147,414 sq ft over 6 here.
190 N 3rd St scores 69 to its 93, and with the size held roughly equal most of that shortfall comes from interior depth: 28 out of 100 here, 81 there (deepest interior point 48 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft). On the money they part ways: 100 E Santa Clara St pencils without a subsidy, while 190 N 3rd St falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 1,200 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 190 N 3rd St $7.4M, on the assumption it qualifies. Whether it does, no published dataset can say.
That figure assumes the building meets the Act’s vacant-and-abandoned test, which turns on code-enforcement and receivership records no city publishes.
This building does sit in census tract 06085501000, a 2018 designated Opportunity Zone, which Section 201 lets HUD favor — one of the few statutory priorities this screen can actually check.
Other buildings screened near 190 N 3rd St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 140 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 160 N 3rd St5 stories · 100% daylit · 33 estimated homes · scores 88/100 (Strong candidate)about 140 ft away
- 152 N 3rd St13 stories · 85% daylit · 319 estimated homes · scores 86/100 (Strong candidate)about 230 ft away
- 97 E St James St5 stories · 90% daylit · already a condominium buildingabout 320 ft away
- 210 N 4th St6 stories · 85% daylit · 60 estimated homes · scores 77/100 (Strong candidate)about 350 ft away
A screen, not a feasibility study, from outlines and heights rather than plans: the method and how to correct a figure. If you know this building’s interior, you know what this model cannot see.