Builder
Barry Swenson was squeezed out of the family business, the Carl N. Swenson company, which built San Jose’s old City Hall. Left on his own, and not enjoying status as one of the Redevelopment Agency’s favored developers, Swenson nonetheless bought up downtown blocks in San Jose, as well as Santa Cruz and other California communities, rehabilitating historic buildings one by one. His restorations of the New Century Block of First Street and the De Anza Hotel, which was built by his grandfather, helped give San Jose some of its battered soul back. A longtime proponent of high-density housing, he also built downtown’s first residential tower, City Heights. Barry Swenson Builders is now one of the largest privately owned companies in the valley.
