Urban Catalyst’s 278-Unit Aquino Nears Topping Out in San Jose

• Urban Catalyst is nearing the top of construction on Aquino, an eight-story apartment building at 486 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, CA 95110.

• The project will deliver 278 apartments, including 14 deed-restricted units for very low-income households, with 167 parking spaces and 88 bicycle spaces. 

• Beach Point Capital provided $112.5 million in construction financing, with Swenson Builders as general contractor and BDE Architecture leading design.

What Urban Catalyst Is Building

Urban Catalyst is approaching a major construction milestone on Aquino, an eight-story multifamily development in Downtown San Jose. The project broke ground in September 2025 and is now nearing its final framing stage, with façade installation expected to follow.  The building will rise from a three-story concrete podium topped by five floors of wood framing. BDE Architecture designed the project with an accordion-style corner and a barcode-inspired façade featuring vertical panels and clusters of private balconies. 

 

 

What The 278 Apartments Add

Aquino will offer a mix of smaller studios and one-bedroom apartments alongside larger two- and three-bedroom residences. The current plan includes 211 studios and one-bedroom units and 67 two- and three-bedroom units, creating a broad rental mix for the downtown market.  The ground floor will contain the building's internal garage and community room, while resident amenities include a fitness center, coworking space, dog-walk area, yoga room, sauna and communal kitchen. An eighth-floor resident lounge and balcony are also planned. 

What The $112.5M Loan Shows

The development secured $112.5 million in construction financing from Beach Point Capital in September 2025. The financing helped Urban Catalyst move forward with Aquino during a period when high construction costs and financing conditions had slowed new multifamily development in San Jose. 

Urban Catalyst founder Erik Hayden said, “With rent growth at historic highs and no new market-rate multifamily developments in Downtown San Jose in the past two years, delivering high-quality housing is both challenging and essential.” 

Aquino is also among the first major developments to advance under San Jose's Multifamily Housing Incentive Program, which provides qualifying projects with fee and tax incentives intended to accelerate housing production. 

What The Location Offers

The 0.83-acre property is bounded by West San Carlos Street, Josefa Street, Delmas Avenue and Auzerais Avenue, placing residents within a few blocks of Discovery Meadow and Diridon Station. The location is also close to major Silicon Valley employers, including Adobe and Zoom headquarters, while Interstate 280 and State Route 87 provide regional access. Future transit expansion could further strengthen the area's connectivity.  Urban Catalyst is simultaneously developing additional projects nearby, including the Marriott TowneSuites hotel at 495 West San Carlos Street and a senior housing project at 470 West San Carlos Street.

What Comes Next

Crews are finishing the top floor of wood framing, with the project now close to topping out. Façade installation is expected to begin after the framing work is completed.  For investors, Aquino represents another sizable addition to Downtown San Jose's rental pipeline, combining market-rate housing, transit access and institutional construction financing in a district where new multifamily construction has been relatively limited.