SAN JOSE >> dd’s Discounts signed a lease to take space at a long-empty site at The Plant shopping center, a busy San Jose retail and restaurant destination that is landing a growing number of merchants under new owners, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County recorder’s office.

The discount retailer leased 18,000 square feet in a space next to an existing Target store. Construction work was already underway this week.

dd’s Discounts is a unit of Ross Stores, which already operates a Ross Dress for Less in The Plant. The Ross store will remain open.

The new dd’s Discounts store also will be adjacent to a future Vallarta Supermarkets that had previously rented 65,000 square feet. Vallarta Supermarkets is taking over a space that was once occupied by Toys R Us and Babies R Us. In 2018, Toys R Us shut all of its U.S. locations following a bankruptcy filing.

The lease by dd’s Discounts extends a positive trend for the principal owners of The Plant, Arc Capital Partners and Milan Capital Management.

In August 2024, Arc Capital and Milan Capital, acting through an affiliate, paid $95 million for most of The Plant. Target owns its store site, which wasn’t involved in last year’s transaction.

“We are definitely seeing a lot of leasing momentum,” said Chris Nichelson, a Milan Capital Management executive.

Located at 1 Curtner Ave., The Plant totals 650,500 square feet, according to real estate brochures.

“We are already 93% pre-leased and 70% occupied,” Nichelson said.

Leases are pending for an additional 12,600 square feet in four smaller spaces in The Plant, county property documents show.

“We are very excited to get this dd’s Discounts lease,” Nichelson said. “We are very energized with the activity we are getting. This shows that The Plant is a great location for retailers.”