Work starts on north San Jose site for casino, hotels and offices

The site will consist of a 49-table casino, two hotels that together will total 414 rooms, and a nine-story office tower, said Brian Bumb, co-developer and principal executive of the group developing the site. The property is owned and being developed by an affiliate controlled by the Bumb Family of San Jose.

"We are working with Hilton," Bumb said about the first hotel, which would be seven stories and total 174 rooms. "They have given us site approval for their brands. We hope to secure a franchise agreement with Hilton in the next week or 10 days."

The project would be built in two phases, with the casino to be completed and operating by September 2017 if all goes according to plan. The first hotel is due to open in early 2018.

The new casino is located across U.S. 101 from the Bay 101 Club. The casino's lease at its current site will expire in November 2017.

"We're pushing the outer limits of getting this casino open in time, especially if we lose a couple of months due to the weather," Bumb said. "This El Niño could really goof us up."

The Bumb Family has just filed an application for the second phase of complex. Phase two will consist of a second, 10-story hotel totaling 210 rooms and an office project totaling 240,000 square feet.