TOENISKOETTER & BREEDING DEVELOPING ELEGANT, CLASSICAL BUILDING TO BE OCCUPIED BY COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL

SAN JOSE -- Toeniskoetter & Breeding Inc. (TBI) Development, which specializes in creating buildings of enduring style and design, is developing an office building in Downtown San Jose that features classical design reminiscent of European structures that have aged gracefully over many centuries. The columned building is under construction across from the main entrance to the San Jose Arena and will be one of the finest in TBIs award-winning portfolio, TBI President Chuck Toeniskoetter said.

Colliers International, which has been located since 1985 at 1960 The Alameda, has leased the two-story, 22,000-square-foot building for its San Jose office. The company plans to transfer 52 brokers, five broker trainees and support staff to the new building, which will also provide room for growth. Colliers International will retain 5,000 of the 19,000 square feet it now leases on The Alameda for the accounting, information technology and corporate staff.

Jeff Fredericks, managing partner of Colliers International in San Jose, said the company expects to add 10 -11 sales agents at the new location while providing larger, private offices for most of the sales staff.

"Since J.R. Parrish started this company 25 years ago, there has been an ongoing commitment to provide the most professional environment for its brokers and staff of any commercial real estate firm in Silicon Valley," Fredericks said. "This facility will continue in that tradition."

The new building at 450 West Santa Clara Street is a joint venture of Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc. Development and the SJW Land Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the San Jose Water Company, whose historical headquarters building is located a half block away on West Santa Clara Street. SJW acquired the site in 1996 with the goal of developing a building there that would be compatible with both the classical style of the water company's building and future development on the adjacent property it owns. The corner site had been previously occupied by a used car lot and two billboards.

"It will be a great building," said Jay Weinhardt, chairman of San Jose Water Company. "It will be a cornerstone for our remaining eight acres."

"There isn't a better single-tenant building around," Fredericks said. "The new location is both close to our present site, which everybody loves, and convenient to major transportation corridors."

The steel-frame building with limestone features will accommodate up to 14-foot ceilings on the first floor and will have classical architectural details that include columns, pilasters, capitals, medallions, frieze and arched entry. The building will have a clay tile roof, and each column and its capital will be dramatically lighted from below. The frieze running horizontally near the top of the building and other ornamentation depict San Jose's agrarian heritage.

The architectural design was created by the team of Kenneth Rodrigues & Partners Inc. of San Jose and TBI. Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc. Construction is building both the exterior and the interiors, with both targeted for simultaneous completion in May 2000.

"The Water Company approached TBI with three goals in mind," Toeniskoetter said. "They wanted a project that would: (1) enhance the opportunities for quality development on the adjacent property they own, (2) exhibit enduring style and quality, and (3) remain sensitive to the prominent location by the Arena. At first we considered a restaurant for the site, but as the project unfolded, it became clear that high-quality offices constitute the best use of the land."

TBI Development has developed more than 1.5 million square feet of buildings, most of it in timeless architectural styles that can be characterized as classical, early California or Midwest brick. For the Arena site, the company drew upon the classical features that were developed through its close association with the architectural program taught at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture.

"Notre Dame focuses on traditional architecture, and there is a resurgence of classical forms such as those exhibited by our historical St. Joseph Cathedral and the Santa Clara County Courthouse," Toeniskoetter said. "Our restoration of these two historical buildings helped shape our interest in this architectural style. When we have the ability to influence style, this is the kind of classical building we enjoy creating."

Founded in 1983, Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc. Development has developed and serves as managing general partner for a number of diversified real estate properties throughout Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. In addition to 450 West Santa Clara Street, the company has developed the 52,000-square-foot O'Connor Health Center on Interstate 880 across from the Valley Fair Shopping Center, 70,000-square-foot western headquarters for Integrated Circuit Systems on Race Street in San Jose, 38,000-square-foot retail and medical office complex named Gateway Square in Campbell, 93,000-square-foot Granite Creek Business Center in Scotts Valley and the historical restoration and award-winning office complex at 1960 The Alameda. TBI Development has completed the 30-acre Cochrane Business Ranch in Morgan Hill and is now developing the adjacent Madrone Business Park. The new, master-planned business park will include office, R&D and light industrial space, a retail center and two Marriott hotels, in all totaling 1.4 million square feet at build-out.

Toeniskoetter & Breeding Construction has completed more than $350 million in projects. In addition to restoring 117-year-old St. Joseph Cathedral and 124-year-old Santa Clara County Courthouse, it recently completed two phases of renovation of the historical Hoover School on Park Avenue in San Jose. TBI Construction also specializes in Multiple Prime Construction Management for public agencies and new buildings for TBI's own portfolio and for its clients.

Classical Ornamentation Enriches Architecture

The architectural ornamentation of 450 West Santa Clara Street was created by Petaluma sculptor Jacquelyn Giuffre, who used Silicon Valley technology to integrate elements of the Santa Clara Valley's heritage into classical Mediterranean motifs.

The ornamentation appears on the capitals at the tops of the pilasters, which are columns protruding only partially from the walls, as well as on the frieze running horizontally around the building. Giuffre also designed medallions located on the panels between the windows, and she created swags of fruit and grape leaves, an ornamentation known as Della Robbia after the Renaissance artist who popularized them.

In addition to grapes and grape leaves, the ornamentation pays homage to the Valley's agrarian past by depicting pomegranates, apricots, sunflowers and various kinds of nuts once widely grown here. It also includes acanthus leaves, the prickly, Mediterranean herbs commonly used on the capitals of Corinthian columns.

While some contemporary buildings may make gestures towards classical ornamentation, the developer of 450 West Santa Clara Street, Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc., is very unusual in its full commitment to the richness of classical technique. Exterior ornamentation typically raises issues of both cost and seismic safety. Giuffre and her husband, William Kreysler, however, have addressed these concerns by adopting computer-aided-design and laser scanning techniques and the use of strong, but light-weight space-age materials.

Giuffre typically will sculpt a design one-third to one-half ultimate size in oil-based clay. The piece is scanned by laser, then enlarged by computer and created in foam. Giuffre cleans and sharpens detail in the foam, which is then used to create a mold. The finished product is fiberglass firmly attached to stone with epoxy.

Giuffre trained as a figurative sculptor and works today in a number of mediums at her studio near the offices of William Kreysler and Associates in Petaluma. Additional information about the processes she is employing at 450 West Santa Clara Street can be found by visiting www.kreysler.com.