San Jose mayor pushing for eminent domain use on abandoned church
San Jose's mayor is proposing a legal battle to buy back a dilapidated, historical church left abandoned for years after a failed restoration plan.
Matt Mahan asked the city attorney to pursue eminent domain over First Church of Christ, Scientist, a move that would allow the city to buy the property back from the current owners, Z and L Properties.
The church was built in 1905 and passed through a series of hands before shuttering completely in the 2000s. Chinese property developers, Z and L Properties, purchased the lot in 2014 with the intent to preserve the church and build two high-rise towers next to it.
Plans for renovations never started and the building, exposed to rain, heat and winter weather, began to fall apart.
Locals who walk past the crumbling structure often told CBS News Bay Area that deterioration was sad to witness. Pamela Dibattista said she wants to see the building restored.
"It's part of San Jose's history," Dibattista said eyeing the church. "It's a beautiful structure. It should be, you know, alive and vibrant and being put to good use."
Under city ownership, a new developer could buy the site and continue the original plan for the lot. Mahan said converting it to housing is still a priority.
"My big concern is there's just been no willingness on the part of the company to take responsibility," Mahan said.
The city fined Z and L properties up to $100,000 for blight, which is the limit for base code enforcement violations. But the mayor told KPIX none of those fines were ever paid.
"The lack of movement has led me to believe that we need to take legal action," he said.
CBS News Bay Area covered the church's decline over the last couple of years. In 2023, a San Jose contractor and his crews took it upon themselves to remove the scaffolding and tarp, with the hope that exposing the holes in the stucco and the rotting wood would spur the city to take action.
It's unclear how much it will cost San Jose to buy this church. The city council will consider the proposal for an eminent domain proceeding at its meeting this week.
