You Saved the Pallesen Apartments!

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Recently slated for demolition, the historic Pallesen Apartments will soon get a new lease on life! Thanks to an overwhelming community response, PAC*SJ raised $300,000 in just six weeks to relocate the landmark 110-year-old structure from its original location at 14 E. Reed Street, where a new 27-story luxury apartment tower is slated to rise, to a new home just three blocks away at 4th and Reed Streets. Following a flawless move on March 28th, Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley will now restore the handsome Mission Revival building into four units of owner-occupied affordable housing-- a desperate need in our community.​ PAC*SJ extends its heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made the move possible, including Habitat of Humanity, the City of San Jose, District 3 Councilperson Raul Peralez, developers KT Urban and Scape, Garden City Construction, Kelly Brothers Movers, and the hundreds of individual donors who contributed to the big move.  

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A STORIED PAST

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The four-unit, 5,000 sq. ft. Pallesen Apartments were constructed in 1910 and designed by the acclaimed San Jose architects Wolfe & McKenzie for original owner Christian Pallesen, a Danish immigrant and foreman at a local lumber mill. Christian and his wife Lillie lived in one unit and rented the others to other working-class families. All four units featured custom built-in cabinets and other wood details likely sourced from Pallesen's lumberyard. Most of these details survive today and will be restored as part of the rehabilitation. The building has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance and association with master architects Frank Delos Wolfe and Charles McKenzie.

 

A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE

 

Once restored, Habitat for Humanity will offer new deed-restricted units at below-market rates, giving eligible families the opportunity to transform their lives, build equity, and foster economic independence. In a city whose diminishing stock of historic buildings is rapidly giving way to high-density luxury development, PAC*SJ hopes the success of this project will inspire further reinvestment in our existing housing stock and highlight the important role that historic preservation can play in developing and protecting affordable and equitable housing.