"It's expected that the rest of the building would be a Planet Fitness gym." Andrew Hinman wrote that in a letter to San José planners in early 2025. He was describing a plan for the empty Orchard Supply Hardware building at 5651 Cottle Road. That plan included a Goddard Preschool for 144 children, open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with playgrounds where the store's garden center used to be.
The gym never came. On September 15, 2026, the City Council approved a different plan for the same building. The preschool is still in it. The gym's slot went to Sprouts Farmers Market. In both versions, the old hardware store returns as several tenants rather than one. Child care was the one piece both plans kept, so the decision that shaped what the building becomes was which business would fill the other big space.
Eight years of a dark storefront
Most people who shop along Cottle Road know the building but not how it got stuck. Here is the short version.
- Until 2018. Orchard Supply Hardware ran at the site for roughly 36 years before it closed in 2018.
- 2018. The store closed because its owner, Lowe's, shut down every Orchard Supply location. It was not a decision about this one store.
- 2019. Central Network Retail Group bought the leases for seven former Bay Area Orchard Supply sites and reopened them as Outdoor Supply Hardware. Cottle Road was not one of them, and it stayed closed for years.
- March 2025. City planning files showed a proposal for a Goddard Preschool plus a Planet Fitness.
- 2025. Dollinger Properties bought the property for $7.3 million.
- August 12, 2026. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the new plan, 8-0-3, with three commissioners absent.
- September 15, 2026. The City Council adopted Resolution No. RES2026-292 approving the permit.
The Cottle Road building stayed empty while some sister sites reopened. One likely reason is its layout, which was built for a single hardware tenant. The 2025 and 2026 proposals solved that the same way: both cut the building up.
The same building, cut differently
The city describes an existing vacant building of about 37,130 square feet on a 4.27-acre site. It sits on the west side of Cottle Road, about 150 feet south of Poughkeepsie Road. Press reports have given larger totals for the building. The figures here are the ones in the city's own staff memo, dated August 31, 2026.
| Space | 2025 proposal | 2026 approved plan |
|---|---|---|
| Large anchor | Planet Fitness, about 24,800 sq ft | Sprouts Farmers Market, 25,142 sq ft |
| Child care | Goddard Preschool, remodel of about 10,000 sq ft | Goddard daycare/preschool, 9,840 sq ft |
| Smaller storefronts | Not described | Two future spaces, about 3,222 sq ft each |
The child care space barely changed between the two plans. The large anchor space changed by a few hundred square feet but went from a gym to a grocery store. Sprouts takes up roughly two-thirds of the existing building, which is close to what the gym would have used. One source does not match the city file. The San Jose Blog reported that Sprouts would not name the daycare operator, while the city's memo lists Goddard.
The approved permit covers more than the floor plan. According to the council resolution, the work includes:
- About 5,568 square feet of new space, removal of a 1,200-square-foot mezzanine floor, and a new façade
- Changes to how cars move through the site and to the stormwater plan
- Off-sale alcohol, which WhatNow describes as a Type 20 beer-and-wine license for the Sprouts space
- A daycare/preschool use with a playground
- Removal of 23 trees
City records list the owner as DD Ventures LLC. The applicant's representative is Derrick Larson of Dollinger Properties.
Why the grocer changes the center more than a gym would
The site is part of Orchard Town and Country, an outdoor center that already has Baskin-Robbins, Greek Spot, and Castillo's Mexican Restaurant. WhatNow describes the project as turning a vacant property into a grocery-anchored shopping center. That label matters for the smaller businesses next door. A grocery store gives people a reason to come back to a center week after week.
The preschool adds another kind of repeat visit. The 2025 planning files describe a program for children from six weeks to six years old, open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. With a preschool and a grocery store under one roof, the parking lot will be busy at weekday drop-off and pickup times, which a hardware store never caused. That also helps explain the city's attention to vehicle circulation.
Sprouts' store format covers fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery items, deli foods, bulk foods, and general grocery. The Mercury News, as summarized by Hoodline, reported that the store could employ 90 to 125 workers once it opens.
Where it fits among the grocery stops already nearby
Grocery shopping already exists in this part of South San Jose. The area around the site has several shopping centers, including ones anchored by Safeway and Target. Sprouts adds a different store format alongside them. The San Jose Blog counts this as Sprouts' sixth store inside San José city limits and one of more than twenty in the Bay Area.
The same post puts Cottle Road in a broader trend of grocers filling large South Bay spaces. It notes that T&T recently opened at Westgate and that Gus's is aiming for the former Whole Foods in Los Gatos in 2027. On Cottle Road, the space that sat empty longest is now part of that trend.
The vote, and what is still unscheduled
The council handled the permit on its land use consent calendar. Mayor Matt Mahan pulled the item so it could be voted on separately. He recused himself under the Levine Act because he had received a contribution of more than $500 from a Dollinger Properties principal within the previous 12 months. Nobody spoke during public comment. The minutes record the resolution as passing 10-1-0, with Mahan recused. The city found the project exempt from CEQA review under the guideline for existing facilities.
The permit is approved, but construction has no public schedule yet. Sprouts has signed a lease and told the Silicon Valley Business Journal it is aiming to open in early 2028. That is a company target, not a confirmed date. No construction start date has been published, and the two smaller spaces have no announced tenants. The next visible step will be work starting on the building itself: the new façade, the added space at the back, and the garden center area turning into a playground.
A long-vacant building getting a grocer and a preschool can change how buyers see the streets around Cottle and Poughkeepsie. If you own nearby and want to know what that could mean for your home, the Matt Tenczar team can show you recent sales in your area and the plans coming next. Get Your Home's Value.
