201 N 1st St
201 N 1st St is a 13-story building in Downtown San Jose with 69% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 356 homes and scores it 53 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CA-18 · Screened 2026-09-12 · Worth a feasibility study
Where 201 N 1st St is
Its block in Downtown San Jose, drawn from San Jose's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 201 N 1st St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Every floor carries 12,299 sq ft of windowless core — area that must be gutted, seismically braced and sprinklered but can never be rented as an apartment. Across 12 residential floors that is 147,583 sq ft of cost carrying no revenue.
Modeled conversion metrics for 201 N 1st St, 2026-09-12.
| Suitability scoreWorth a feasibility study | 53 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 155 ft LiDAR height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 13 |
| Floor plateper floor, from the city footprint | 40,132 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 69% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 79 ft |
| Windowless coreper floor — renovated but never rentable | 12,299 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 356 |
| Conversion cost$405/sq ft all-in on 481,582 sq ft | $195.0M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $43.7M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltSan Jose does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningDowntown San Jose | DC |
| Opportunity Zonecensus tract 06085500800, 2018 designation | Yes |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
37 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 1,112 ft of exterior wall, and across 12 residential floors the building carries 13,347 ft of it in total, divided among the 356 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is elongated at 0.41: a slab or an L, which is why so much of the floor lies within reach of a window: the outline buys daylight that a square plan of the same area would not. How window line and plate shape are measured.
At the model’s 750 sq ft average, the plan works out at about 29.7 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 201 N 1st St scores 53 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 59, Interior depth 3, Scale 100, Finance 71 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 201 N 1st St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency69% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 59 | 45% | 26.4 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 79 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 3 | 25% | 0.8 |
| Scale356 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 17% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 71 | 15% | 10.7 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is interior depth, at 3 out of 100: deepest interior point 79 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft.
What the conversion would cost
$405 per square foot all-in across 481,582 sq ft of converted floor, or $195.0M in total — about $548K for each of the 356 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 201 N 1st 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 147,583 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 356 homes is $151.3M.
What would have to be true
A $43.7M gap before any grant, $33.7M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 18% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $43.7M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 356 homes finishing at $548K rather than the $425K the model assumes — 29% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $405 to $314 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $520K a home. That is still above the $425K assumed, leaving $33.7M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 201 N 1st St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 201 N 1st St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 18% downto 613 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Completed value per home | 22% upto $520K |
| Circulation efficiency | 22% upto 98% |
| Conversion cost per square foot | 27% downto $190/sq ft |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 201 N 1st St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Downtown San Jose
201 N 1st St ranks 51st of the 82 buildings screened here, against a median score of 64.
Its floor plate is better lit than 46% of them, and shallower than 33% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 23rd 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
42nd of 72 zoned DC — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
72 of the screened buildings are zoned DC. 201 N 1st St ranks 42nd 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 79 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: 303 Almaden Blvd
The screened building closest to 201 N 1st St in converted floor area is 303 Almaden Blvd: 460,603 sq ft over 13 stories, against 481,582 sq ft over 13 here.
201 N 1st St scores 53 and 303 Almaden Blvd only 35, and the difference is a hard fail rather than a matter of degree: the lower one is capped at 35 because its deepest interior point is 89 ft from a facade, past the 80 ft threshold beyond which conversion requires carving a light well. On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 3,800 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 201 N 1st St $10.0M, 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 06085500800, 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 201 N 1st St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 340 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 45 Devine St6 stories · 52% daylit · already a condominium buildingabout 340 ft away
- 111 N Market St12 stories · 81% daylit · 185 estimated homes · scores 85/100 (Strong candidate)about 450 ft away
- 43 E St James St5 stories · 100% daylit · 25 estimated homes · scores 88/100 (Strong candidate)about 520 ft away
- 111 W St John St14 stories · 92% daylit · 199 estimated homes · scores 98/100 (Strong candidate)about 610 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.