Plans to develop several dozen residential units in Downtown San Jose could transform city blocks that have long suffered from blight. The area north of San Pedro Square may soon become a vibrant community, and local leaders are enthusiastic about the change.

Bob Staedler, principal executive of the land-use and planning consultancy Silicon Valley Synergy, told the East Bay Times, “Ultimately this is going to be a great, brand-new neighborhood in Downtown San Jose. This area north of San Pedro Square has always been the hole in the doughnut of the downtown.”

The 64 planned townhomes would be in an area bounded by State Route 87 and freight railroad tracks. Of the 64 homes, 43 would be near the corner of North San Pedro and West Julian Streets, while 21 would be near the corner of West Julian and Terraine Streets. The parcels currently consist of bulldozed lots and a few old buildings.

These homes are only part of what is shaping up to be a major effort to build hundreds of new housing units in Downtown San Jose. Google has proposed a transit village at San Jose’s Diridon Station, which would bring at least 6 million square feet of offices and thousands of employees to the neighborhood. San Jose’s mayor also plans to oversee the construction of 25,000 new homes in San Jose by 2022, half of which would be in Downtown San Jose.