45 N Market St
45 N Market St is a 5-story building in Downtown San Jose with 50% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 177 homes and scores it 29 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CA-18 · Screened 2026-09-12 · Unlikely
Where 45 N Market St is
Its block in Downtown San Jose, drawn from San Jose's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 45 N Market St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Every floor carries 42,259 sq ft of windowless core — area that must be gutted, seismically braced and sprinklered but can never be rented as an apartment. Across 4 residential floors that is 169,037 sq ft of cost carrying no revenue.
Modeled conversion metrics for 45 N Market St, 2026-09-12.
| Suitability scoreUnlikely | 29 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 64 ft LiDAR height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 5 |
| Floor plateper floor, from the city footprint | 83,888 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 50% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 96 ft |
| Windowless coreper floor — renovated but never rentable | 42,259 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 177 |
| Conversion cost$405/sq ft all-in on 335,553 sq ft | $135.9M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $60.7M |
| 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
31 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 1,359 ft of exterior wall, and across 4 residential floors the building carries 5,434 ft of it in total, divided among the 177 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.57: 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 44.3 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 45 N Market St scores 29 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 19, Interior depth 0, Scale 100, Finance 38 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 45 N Market St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency50% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 19 | 45% | 8.7 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 96 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 0 | 25% | 0.0 |
| Scale177 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 37% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 38 | 15% | 5.7 |
Most of what it earns comes from scale, and what holds it back most is interior depth, at 0 out of 100: deepest interior point 96 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft.
What the conversion would cost
$405 per square foot all-in across 335,553 sq ft of converted floor, or $135.9M in total — about $768K for each of the 177 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 45 N Market 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 169,037 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 177 homes is $75.2M.
What would have to be true
A $60.7M gap before any grant, $50.7M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 40% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $60.7M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 177 homes finishing at $768K rather than the $425K the model assumes — 81% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $405 to $224 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $711K a home. That is still above the $425K assumed, leaving $50.7M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 45 N Market St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 45 N Market St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 40% downto 449 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 58% downto $109/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 67% upto $711K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 45 N Market St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Downtown San Jose
45 N Market St ranks 73rd of the 82 buildings screened here, against a median score of 64.
Its floor plate is better lit than 11% of them, and shallower than 18% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 49th 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
63rd of 72 zoned DC — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
72 of the screened buildings are zoned DC. 45 N Market St ranks 63rd 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 96 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: 52 E Santa Clara St
The screened building closest to 45 N Market St in converted floor area is 52 E Santa Clara St: 343,638 sq ft over 6 stories, against 335,553 sq ft over 5 here.
45 N Market St scores 29 to its 35, and with the size held roughly equal most of that shortfall comes from daylight efficiency: 19 out of 100 here, 41 there (60% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90%). On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 1,400 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 45 N Market 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 45 N Market St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 350 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 28 N Almaden Ave8 stories · 66% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 350 ft away
- 111 W St John St14 stories · 92% daylit · 199 estimated homes · scores 98/100 (Strong candidate)about 390 ft away
- 81 W Santa Clara St6 stories · 100% daylit · 32 estimated homes · scores 88/100 (Strong candidate)about 480 ft away
- 111 N Market St12 stories · 81% daylit · 185 estimated homes · scores 85/100 (Strong candidate)about 550 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.