Medical campus eyed for San Jose sites once planned for private school

SAN JOSE — Office buildings in San Jose that once were eyed as a hub for a private school are now being pitched as a medical campus, according to marketing materials circulated by commercial real estate firm HealthMed Realty.

At 525 Race St. and 550 Meridian Ave., Avenues The World School bought two buildings in separate transactions that gave it control of the properties.

An affiliate of the school bought the 550 Meridian building in 2019 for $27.1 million and the 525 Race building in 2022 for $33 million, Santa Clara County real estate documents show.

At the time of the second purchase, Avenues The World School officials had filed plans for a campus that envisioned the reuse of the existing office buildings and the construction of new buildings as well as a sports field.

The school never broke ground. Avenues, which according to its website has a campus in New York City and Brazil, did not respond to a request for comment or context about the situation.

A third building at 570 Meridian also is included in the pitch, according to the HealthMed Realty marketing materials circulated by founding partner Eric Rafia. It is under separate ownership, a property database shows.

“Boasting three existing buildings with a combined area of 225,500 square feet and 910 parking spaces, this campus offers unrivaled speed to market, circumventing the lengthy and costly process of ground-up construction,” the marketing flyer states.

All three of the buildings are empty, the marketing materials and this news organization’s direct observation of the site in recent days show.