The Saratoga Historic Resource Survey project is part of the preparation of the Saratoga Urban Village Plan. This plan will be a consolidation of the Saratoga Avenue UVP and the Paseo De Saratoga UVP. Learn more about the City's urban village plan  (UVP) strategy and the development of the Saratoga Urban Village Plan currently in progress.

Project Goal

The Saratoga Historic Resource Survey project is one of several historic surveys that implement the Citywide Historic Resource Survey Strategy, authorized by the San José City Council in 2017.  

The project goal is to identify potential historical resources in the Saratoga UVP area and document the area’s history from the community’s perspective. The project will help to inform the urban village planning process and will help decision-makers consider the protection of significant cultural and historical properties that tell the stories of the community’s development.

Read the San José Historic Context Statement Update and San José Modernism historic context statement to learn about the historical development patterns of San José and the survey area. These documents provide a foundation for understanding the potential significance of properties in the survey area.

Project Location

Located in West San José, the Saratoga Avenue Urban Village is bounded on the north by Highway 280 and centers around Saratoga Avenue. It encompasses Paseo de Saratoga, Westgate Mall, and El Paseo de Saratoga. It is primarily developed with commercial uses but also contains single-family and multifamily uses.

Much of the construction occurred during the 1950s-1970s. Five parcels have been identified as potentially containing development that may date to circa 1900.

Project Description 

The City hired Architectural Resources Group (ARG) to conduct the Saratoga Historic Resource Survey under the guidance of the City's Historic Preservation Officer.

The first phase of the project was a reconnaissance-level pedestrian survey of 162 properties within the survey area that were built in 1980 or earlier, or with no recorded construction date, based on Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office data. Reconnaissance level surveys are visual evaluations of a large group of properties that include photographing buildings, and noting development patterns, architectural styles and how buildings may have changed over time. The fieldwork, and data collection and organization, was done on smartphones using a customized mobile survey application called Fulcrum. Limited research with building permit and newspaper archives was also done, and relevant historic context statements were used to establish a list of properties to advance to the intensive-level survey phase.

The second phase of the project was the intensive-level survey of any property that appeared through the reconnaissance-level survey to be potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources and/or for inclusion in the San José Historic Resources Inventory as a Candidate City Landmark or Structure of Merit. Of the 162 properties included in the reconnaissance-level survey, 27 properties were selected for further study in the intensive-level survey to document and evaluate each property against the national, state, and local significance criteria and to prepare California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) 523 forms. Sixteen (16) properties identified for inclusion in the intensive-level survey were determined, upon further research, not to have sufficient historic significance and/or sufficient historic integrity. Information on these properties was consolidated into the reconnaissance-level survey findings Excel spreadsheet for future planning purposes.

Working with historic resources consultant ARG, the San José Planning Division held an evening community meeting on September 9, 2024 where everyone could learn about the project and how to share information and stories. Please visit the Meetings & Input page for details.
Meeting Notice

Share Your Story. Community members were also encouraged to share information using the Share Your Story page. The public was invited to share photographs, documents, or memories related to a specific building, public space, or streetscape within the Saratoga Historic Resources Survey area.

project results and findings

Draft survey documents were reviewed by City staff including the Historic Preservation Officer and Urban Village team, and the Historic Landmarks Commission’s Eastside Alum Rock and Saratoga Avenue Historic Resources Surveys Ad Hoc Committee, which was established on June 5, 2024 for the purpose of project review.

11 historic properties identified. The intensive-level survey concluded that eleven (11) properties are eligible for either listing in the California Register of Historical Places (CR) and/or inclusion in the San José Historic Resources Inventory as Candidate City Landmarks (CCL). The property address, type and specific eligibility for each property is outlined in the table below.

FINAL PROJECT DOCUMENTS

The project resulted in these final documents which were presented to the Historic Landmarks Commission at the June 4, 2025 regular meeting: 

• Saratoga Urban Village Historic Resource Survey – Reconnaissance Survey Findings
  
  
• Saratoga Urban Village Historic Resource Survey - Intensive Survey Report

CONTACT

For questions, please contact:  
Dana Peak, Principal Planner and San José Historic Preservation Officer
dana.peak@sanjoseca.gov
(408) 534-2990