SAN JOSE — A tech hub is being pitched for the site of what was once a planned housing development in downtown San Jose, a project that could tie into Silicon Valley’s heightened appetite for artificial intelligence endeavors.

The property, at 199 Bassett St., had previously been eyed for the development of 803 affordable co-living residences. Now, an eight-story tech center has been proposed, according to documents filed with city planners.

The co-living housing project was never built after the site’s owner and developer defaulted in 2021 on a $14.7 million loan whose collateral was the 199 Bassett site.

The lender, an affiliate of New York City-based Arena Investors, seized the property through a foreclosure in 2022. The property has been dormant ever since.

Currently, a representative for the lender that owns the property, Bay Area real estate executive Dennis Randall, is guiding a proposal through the city review process to redevelop the property as a tech hub, San Jose planning files show.

Two low-slung and vacant old industrial buildings now occupy the site.

The new project is described as an “AI Research and Development Facility,” planning documents on file with the city show.

The ground floor would contain two lobbies and a retail space totaling 2,800 square feet. Including a basement and the eight stories above it, the tech hub would total 281,800 square feet, according to planning records.

The interior components are consistent with many attributes that are frequently seen in a data center — places where computer banks can process huge amounts of data for efforts such as artificial intelligence.

The basement and the first floor would feature a power substation. The second and third floors would contain generators. Floors four, five, six and seven would contain computers, which the proposal calls “AI R&D” sites. The top floor would contain a cooling water plant.

The development group heading up the project hopes to use the San Jose Innovative Project Pathway Program to help the proposal navigate through the city review process.

“The Pathway Program will provide a clear policy route for securing approval of innovative investment projects” that would provide “an extraordinary benefit to the City of San Jose,” stated an October 2024 memo that was prepared by three City Council members, including Mayor Matt Mahan.

The developers of the tech center also promised to build housing.

“The project will also construct 400 units of housing in downtown San Jose on a separate site,” planning documents stated.