A SAN JOSE BUSINESS OWNER won’t have to scramble to make way for a transit project and lose millions of dollars in inventory after entering discussions with VTA.
Sridhar Kollareddy, owner of Silicon Valley Granite, has more time to move thousands of heavy granite slabs out of his shop after talking with VTA on Tuesday about an extension to vacate the business. Kollareddy was supposed to be locked out of his San Jose business at 125 N. 30th St. last week, with only days to move per a court order siding with VTA. The transit agency will use the property for the second phase of its BART expansion project under eminent domain, a legal practice giving government entities the authority to force owners to sell properties when needed for public projects.
Kollareddy is still working out the moving timeline with VTA. The extension came after San José Spotlight first reported the situation and more than 1,000 people signed an online petition supporting the small business owner. It will likely save Kollareddy millions of dollars in inventory he would have lost if the site had been locked as planned.
Kollareddy said he’s glad the discussion has been favorable to his business after worrying he’d lose much of the business he poured his life savings into after immigrating from India decades ago. He’s in the process of leasing a new space for somewhere between $30,000 to $40,000 a month.
“At least they’re not going to kick me out tomorrow,” he told San José Spotlight. “At least they’re willing to talk and they’re in a positive mood.”
A VTA spokesperson said the transit agency couldn’t legally comment on the situation.
Years in the making
The agreement is the latest in a yearslong dispute between Kollareddy and the public transit agency over a BART expansion that will connect services to Silicon Valley.
Kollareddy said he’s supported the project since he first learned about it, but VTA has gone back and forth with him on needed moving time and compensation. A VTA spokesperson said the agency informed businesses they may have to move in 2020 and Kollareddy agreed to a March 2024 moving deadline. VTA extended that deadline to this April after Kollareddy struggled to find a new lease he could afford.
Kollareddy’s business isn’t the only one affected. VTA’s eminent domain legal action, which began in 2021, is already displacing numerous downtown San Jose businesses to make way for ventilation systems and an emergency exit from the BART tunnels.
Kollareddy is moving slabs every day and doesn’t plan to close the business right after the move. But now he can focus on his nearby retirement and potential return to India. He said it’s a relief he doesn’t have to worry about moving his business in an impossible amount of time.
“(I’m feeling) definitely much better than last week,” he said. “So I hope everything comes out nice.”
Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.