SAN JOSE | Projects and Developments

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A small update for Icon-Echo.

Downtown San Jose housing tower with nearly 400 homes gets revamp
New design appears brighter, shows rooftop gathering areas



By GEORGE AVALOS | gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 28, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.

SAN JOSE — The plan for a proposed San Jose housing tower that would contain several hundred homes is being revamped with a brighter look, a design change for which the project’s developer is seeking a fresh set of city approvals.

The tower, known as Echo, is being developed by real estate firm Urban Catalyst at the corner of North Fourth Street and East St. John Street downtown.

Urban Catalyst has headed back to the city to seek approvals for the new look and changed exterior.

“We have redesigned the exterior skin of the Echo building,” Erik Hayden, Urban Catalyst’s founder and managing partner. “We always strive to incorporate best-in-class design into our projects and this new exterior does that.”



The changes conform to the footprint, or massing, of the building that had been previously approved by city officials, according to Hayden. The new exterior also features additional solar shading to increase the building’s energy efficiency, he added.

...

The new concepts for the residential project also include an image of outdoor gathering areas on an upper level of the housing high-rise.

“Echo’s amenities package includes a rooftop lounge with 360-degree views, couches and fire pits, as well as an interior office area that features a conference room, a library, desks and phone booths,” Hayden said.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/0...state-housing/

[homebucket]

Updated specs:
- ? ft, 22 floors
- 220 units (all of which are affordable, and reserved for people ages 55+)
- Parking for 0 cars and 54 bicycles

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/jJpEsvximiU2FH7F8

This was previously listed at 268 ft and 25 floors according to SF YIMBY.

Senior high-rise coming to downtown San Jose
by Joseph Geha
MARCH 29, 2023

A historic two-story building in downtown San Jose will be converted into a high-rise apartment tower for hundreds of older adults, following a green light from city leaders.

On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved plans from Roygbiv Real Estate Development to gut the Realty Building at 19 N. 2nd St. while maintaining its facade and part of its roof, and build a 22-story tower on the same 0.22-acre plot. All 220 apartments are planned to be rented at below market-rate prices and will be reserved for people aged 55 and older, city reports said.

...

The olive-green Realty Building was designated as a city historic landmark in 2001 and sits near the corner of Santa Clara Street, where Roygbiv has also proposed another apartment tower.

The apartments will be below market-rate, but on the upper end of the affordable housing scales. Roughly 25 apartments will be priced for residents earning up to 60% of the area median income, currently about $71,000 annually in Santa Clara County for one person, the developer said. The remaining apartments will be priced as affordable to people earning more than that, up to 120% of the area median income—about $141,000 annually for one person.

https://sanjosespotlight.com/senior-...town-san-jose/

[dirt patch]

interesting

[homebucket]

Nice to see West San Carlos-Stevens Creek continuing to densify. This thoroughfare could be a prime candidate for a BRT or light rail line extension, or maybe even BART.

Affordable home project is being eyed near big San Jose malls
Retail sites would be bulldozed to clear way for housing complex



By GEORGE AVALOS | gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 31, 2023 at 12:45 p.m.

SAN JOSE — New affordable homes are being eyed near San Jose’s primary shopping malls, a project that could sprout in what city officials hope is an emerging and vibrant new corridor.

The proposed project would add 94 affordable homes at the northeast corner of West San Carlos Street and Cleveland Avenue, according to documents on file with city officials. The proposed project is located a short distance from the Westfield Valley Fair mall and Santana Row.

The development site has addresses ranging from 1921 through 1929 West San Carlos Street as well as 30 through 58 Cleveland Avenue, the planning documents show.

Los Angeles-based real estate company Path Ventures, which is active in the development of affordable housing, has proposed the project.



The developer intends to bulldoze five buildings at that corner to clear the way for the new project. At present, the occupants of the buildings include a piano store and other merchants at 1921 West San Carlos.

“Path Villas at the Row is a 94-unit affordable, mixed-income housing development service families in the West San Carlos Urban Village Plan Area,” Path Ventures stated in its development proposal. It envisions a project that could accommodate a wide array of future residents.

“The development contains a variety of unit sizes to accommodate families and individuals earning between 30% to 80% of the area median income,” Path Ventures stated in the project proposal. “The development also provides housing units and support spaces for individuals experiencing homelessness.”

The project also envisions potential retail uses.

“Commercial retail space is provided at the ground level facing West San Carlos Street at Cleveland Avenue, to activate the development’s corner,” Path Ventures stated in the proposal.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/0...estate-retail/

[homebucket]

A BART extension like this would make a lot of sense, connecting De Anza with a high density residential, commercial, and employment corridor.



https://twitter.com/alfred_twu/statu...540221442?s=20

[homebucket]

Downtown San Jose office tower could convert to apartments or hotel
Office slump spurs pivot to new uses for prominent tower



By GEORGE AVALOS | gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: April 6, 2023 at 7:55 a.m.

SAN JOSE — An office tower at a prime downtown San Jose site may be converted to other uses, including housing, a fresh sign of economic shifts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and an uneven return to the workplace.

The 10-story high-rise at the intersection of First and Santa Clara streets, originally built in 1910, is a former Bank of the West building owned by DivcoWest, a veteran real estate firm.

In recent years, DivcoWest undertook a dramatic transformation of the interior of the tower that revamped the structure as a creative office building meant to appeal to tech companies or advanced technology startups seeking a trendy urban space.

DivcoWest now seeks a new mission for the tower, which is located at one of downtown San Jose’s most prominent intersections.

“An existing office building is being studied for conversion to three different non-office uses,” DivcoWest states in a preliminary filing with the San Jose Planning Department.

The three new potential uses could be multifamily residential apartments, co-living residential units, or a hotel. Co-living projects sometimes feature shared facilities such as kitchens or bathrooms.

“This is the wave of the future for antiquated older office buildings that might not be filled again for decades if left alone,” said David Taxin, partner with Meacham/Oppenheimer, a commercial real estate firm. “This is a fantastic solution for the housing crisis.”

The preliminary review is a way for the project owner to gauge the views and opinions of political leaders, city staffers and property neighbors regarding a development proposal. Put another way, preliminary applications are trial balloons.

DivcoWest would also need to determine whether a full-scale revamp to housing or a hotel would be economically feasible.

“Conversion is very expensive but still cheaper than putting up a brand new building,” Taxin said.

This preliminary proposal for a new use for the tower arrives at a time when office markets in the Bay Area and numerous other metro centers nationwide and globally are burdened by fast-rising vacancy rates.

Many employees have continued to work from home in the wake of the pandemic, leaving office buildings, especially in downtown districts, burdened with high vacancy levels.

Tech companies, alarmed by a slump in their business prospects and revenue, have begun to retrench and recalibrate their hiring and even embark on widening job cuts, a process that in turn has curbed their appetite for office space.

In contrast, the entire Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, is confronted by a housing shortage.

“The demand for housing in San Jose and Silicon Valley writ large is showing no sign of abating,” said Nick Goddard, a senior vice president with Colliers, a commercial real estate firm. “This is great news for downtown and for this long-dormant former Bank of the West headquarters.”

A transformation and revamp of the tower would require significant work, according to the preliminary application.

“Conversion to new uses would require an architectural remodel as well as structural and a mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems remodel,” the planning documents state.

Some things are certain, regardless of the future use of the building. The tower occupies an enviable location at a busy downtown San Jose intersection. In the coming years, BART intends to build and open a train station just across the street from the tower’s front door.

A short distance to the west, Adobe has opened a new office tower for thousands of its workers.

Beyond the Adobe campus, Google is planning the development of a new transit-oriented neighborhood near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.

And the characteristics of the building could lend themselves to a housing high-rise, in Goddard’s view.

“The building’s glass lines lend themselves well to individual apartments and the basement and large patio are great amenity spaces for future residents,” Goddard said. “The exposed brick and high ceilings will make an interesting and unique living space.”

More conversion efforts could be in the works in San Jose, which means city bureaucrats will have to be nimble to accommodate the requests, said Bob Staedler, principal executive with land-use consultant Silicon Valley Synergy.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/0...-estate-build/

[homebucket]

Bad news but not surprising.

Google's 80-Acre San Jose Mega-Campus Is on Hold as Company Reckons With Economic Slowdown
By Jennifer Elias,CNBC • Published 45 mins ago

- Google has halted construction of its proposed 80-acre campus in San Jose, California, after the first demolition phase.
- Some sources close to the development told CNBC that the company doesn't have plans to revive the project in the near future.
- CFO Ruth Porat said on the company's last earnings call that Google expected to incur costs of about $500 million in the first quarter to reduce global office space.

In June 2021, Google won approval to build an 80-acre campus, spanning 7.3 million square feet of office space, in San Jose, California, the third-largest city in the country's most populous state. The estimated economic impact: $19 billion.

The timing couldn't have been worse.

A decade-long bull market in technology had just about run its course, and the following year would mark the worst for tech stocks since the 2008 financial crisis. Rising interest rates and recessionary concerns led advertisers to reel in spending, shrinking Google's growth and, for the first time in the company's history, forcing management to implement dramatic cost cuts.

The city of San Jose may now be paying the price. What was poised to be a mega-campus called "Downtown West," with thousands of new housing units and 15 acres of public parks, is largely a demolition zone at risk of becoming a long-term eyesore and economic zero. CNBC has learned that, as part of Google's downsizing that went into effect early this year, the company has gutted its development team for the San Jose campus.

The construction project, which was supposed to break ground before the end of 2023, has been put on pause, and no plan to restart construction has been communicated to contractors, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named due to non-disclosure agreements. While sources are optimistic that a campus will be built at some point and said Google representatives have expressed a commitment to it, they're concerned the project may not reach the scale promised in the original master plan.

The Mercury News, one of Silicon Valley's main newspapers, previously reported that Google was reassessing its timeline. Sources told CNBC that the company started signaling to contractors late last year that the project could face delays and changes.

In February, LendLease, the lead developer for the project, laid off 67 employees, including several community engagement managers, according to filings viewed by CNBC. Senior development managers, a head of business operations and other executives were among those let go.

Last month, Google also removed construction updates from its website for the project, according to internal correspondence viewed by CNBC.

LendLease didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alphabet-owned Google is embarking on its most severe cost cuts in its almost two decades on the public market. The company said in January that it was eliminating 12,000 jobs, representing about 6% of its workforce, to reckon with slowing sales growth after headcount swelled before and during the Covid pandemic.

About a year ago, Google announced that it would invest nearly $10 billion in at least 20 key real estate projects in 2022. By then, the company had already completed much of its multi-year land grab of downtown San Jose for the future campus.

Money coming 'when the cranes are in the air'
Things changed in a hurry. On Alphabet's fourth-quarter earnings call in February, finance chief Ruth Porat said the company expected to incur costs of about $500 million in the first quarter to reduce global office space, and she warned that other real estate charges were possible in the future.

While the tech industry broadly is struggling to adapt to a post-Covid world that appears to be more hybrid in nature and less centered around large campuses, Google is in a particularly precarious spot because of its massive commitment, financial and otherwise, to altering the landscape of a major urban area.

"We're working to ensure our real estate investments match the future needs of our hybrid workforce, our business and our communities," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "While we're assessing how to best move forward with Downtown West, we're still committed to San Jose for the long term and believe in the importance of the development."

Google spent several years planning for the San Jose complex and invested significant resources in winning over the local community. Opposition in some corners was so fierce that, in 2019, activists chained themselves to chairs inside San Jose's City Hall over the decision to sell public land to Google. A multi-year effort to address community concerns ended with support from some of the project's stiffest early opponents.

To win over the locals, Google designated more than half its campus to public use and offered up a $200 million community benefits package that included displacement funds, job placement training, and power for community leaders to influence how that money would be spent.

While some community benefits have already been delivered, the bulk is to be dispersed upon the office space development. Google also promised to build 15,000 residential units in Silicon Valley, with 25% of them considered "affordable," a critical issue in an area with one of the highest homeless populations in the country, according to government statistics. Some 4,000 of those housing units were set to be built at Downtown West.

"We all originally knew that it's going to be a long-term plan," San Jose councilmember Omar Torres, who represents the downtown area, told San Jose Spotlight in February. "But yes, it's definitely concerning that a lot of the money is coming when the cranes are in the air."

The demolition phase of the project took out a number of historic San Jose landmarks and forced the relocation of others. A 74-year-old dancing pig sign for Stephen's Meat Products had to be moved, and only a small part of an old bakery building remains.

Patty's Inn, an 88-year-old beloved pub, didn't survive the teardown.

"This is a dive bar, but I never thought of it as a dive bar. It was just Patty's Inn," Jim Nielsen, an executive at RBC Wealth Management and longtime patron of the bar, told the Mercury News at the time. "It's tough to see these places go away because they can't be replaced."

The new campus was expected to bring some 20,000 jobs to the city.

Empty swaths of land
CNBC visited the site a couple times in April during the normal workday, to see swaths of land where old buildings have been replaced by cranes, tractors and other construction equipment in a fenced-off area. Nobody was working on site.

Construction projects of this scale take a long time. Google had originally said it would likely need between 10 and 30 years to build out the campus, so it still has a significant cushion to resume development.

LendLease said in 2019 that it struck a $15 billion deal with Google to spend the next 10 to 15 years redeveloping the company's landholdings in San Jose as well as nearby Sunnyvale and Mountain View, where Google is headquartered.

“LendLease will play a key role in helping deliver at least 15,000 new homes on our land,” David Radcliffe, Google's real estate lead at the time, said in a press release.

But Radcliffe left Google in late 2022 after 16 years at the company. He was replaced by Scott Foster, who previously led global real estate for financial firm RBC. Sources familiar with Google's real estate projects described Foster as someone who is expected to be more conservative in spending, and more likely to slim down the scale of the campus, especially amid cost-cutting efforts.

With construction at the site currently stalled, San Jose sits without an expected anchor tenant in an empty swath of its downtown. Dozens of vendors and contractors that were expecting work are focusing on other projects as they wait to hear what happens next.

The mood is vastly different than it was less than two years ago, when Gov. Gavin Newsom stood beside Google Senior Vice President Kent Walker at an event in San Jose, ahead of a city council meeting that would determine whether the project got approved. Newsom used the occasion to sign SB 7, a bill to speed up construction of housing and development projects.

Newsom and officials cited Google’s proposed mega-campus several times as an example of the state’s economic “comeback” from the Covid pandemic.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/busi...wdown/3211346/

[homebucket]

Not the most aesthetically pleasing but the specs are good, and it's right next to SJSU.

The specs:
- 274 ft, 25 floors
- 210 units (all of which are affordable, and reserved for people ages 55+)
- 1,500 sq ft for retail
- Parking for 168 cars and 70 bicycles

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/UDXsD4tgE5qQLKmd9

EIR Published For 25-Story Apartments In Downtown San Jose



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JUNE 2, 2023

The Supplemental Environmental Impact Report has been published for the 25-story residential infill at 439 South 4th Street in Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara County. The filing will create 210 new homes from the half-acre property close to the SJSU campus. 439 S. Fourth Street, LLC, associated with Nelly Amas, is the project applicant.

The 274-foot tall structure will yield around 448,470 square feet, with 376,320 square feet for housing, 1,500 square feet for retail, and 72,150 square feet for the five-level garage. Parking will be included from the basement to level four, with a capacity for 168 cars and 70 bicycles.

Details about unit size composition have not been included in the available plans, but documents say the average unit will have three and a half bedrooms, suggesting the target resident will be students of the nearby SJSU campus. Residential amenities will include a community room, dog park, common open space, pool deck, and a fitness center.

Santa Clara-based Salvatore Caruso Design Corporation is the project architect. The exterior will be articulated with a corner focal point rising up from the eighth floor to the parapet above the rooftop deck. The tower is expected to rise around the same height as the Mark. Construction could rise across from the three-tower SoFA By Nabr project by Urban Community and Terrascape Ventures.

...

The 0.52-acre property is located between East San Salvador Street and East William Street, across from the southwest corner of the San Jose State University campus. Demolition will be required of the existing three-story apartment complex and two-story home. Construction is expected to last around 23 months from groundbreaking to completion.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/06/eir-publ...-san-jose.html

[homebucket]

And the renderings:







https://sfyimby.com/2023/06/eir-publ...-san-jose.html

[homebucket]

Historic downtown San Jose office building eyed for housing high-rise
Residential conversions attract attention amid woozy office market



By GEORGE AVALOS | gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 8, 2023 at 11:40 a.m.

SAN JOSE — The iconic Bank of Italy office tower in downtown San Jose may gain a new mission as a housing high-rise, a conversion being discussed against the forbidding backdrop of an office market that continues to wobble.

Converting the high-profile, nearly century-old tower to residential units could be a winner for the property, considering the shortage of housing in the Bay Area and the post-pandemic woes afflicting the regional office market.

Constructed in 1926 in a Renaissance Revival style, the Bank of Italy tower features smaller floors and cozy offices. Each office enjoys a separate window — which means plenty of sunlight for every prospective residence.

“This could be a spectacular conversion,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial, a real estate firm. “The small floor plates in this classic, beautiful building really lend themselves to residential conversions.”

The principal owners of the landmark building have held discussions at San Jose City Hall regarding the concept, according to several sources, including some who have direct knowledge of plans to convert the 14-story structure.

The building is owned by an alliance of local development firm Urban Community and Westbank, a top-notch developer with a global reach. Bay Area real estate entrepreneurs Gary Dillabough and Jeff Arrillaga head up Urban Community.

Dillabough, Arrillaga and Westbank declined to comment or couldn’t be reached to discuss the project.

Real estate and property experts said the Bank of Italy building at 12 South First St. next to East Santa Clara Street makes a lot of sense as a housing high-rise.

“If this came to pass, that would add yet more affluent professionals to the downtown San Jose market,” said Nick Goddard, a senior vice president with Colliers, a commercial real estate firm.

Despite the current maladies affecting the office market in the Bay Area, experts contend the ailing sector will eventually recuperate, which in turn would intensify the demand for office space in downtown San Jose.

“When the office markets start their inevitable rebound, downtown San Jose housing will provide a rich vein of talent for urban employers and those who seek the excitement of an urban environment but want to flee the safety problems in San Francisco,” Goddard said.

The concept of office-to-housing conversions makes sense, said Bob Staedler, principal executive with Silicon Valley Synergy, a land-use consultancy.

“Residential conversions will create more vibrancy in downtown San Jose,” Staedler said. “If the Bank of Italy is no longer an office building, that will improve the office vacancy rate and create more demand for offices. Residential conversions need to be taken more seriously.”

Across the roadway, at 2 West Santa Clara St. next to South First Street, DivcoWest has undertaken a dramatic renovation and revamp of a 10-story office tower constructed in 1910. DivcoWest has filed a very preliminary proposal with San Jose city planners to explore non-office uses in the prominent tower. The three new potential uses could be multifamily residential apartments, co-living residential units, or a hotel. Co-living projects sometimes feature shared facilities such as kitchens or bathrooms.

The discussions could mean that two long-time office towers across the street from each other might both become housing high-rises.

Additional housing also might bolster efforts to further spur the revival of the restaurant, retail, cocktail lounge and bar scene in downtown San Jose in the wake of the economic dislocations induced by the coronavirus.

“We need more residents, we need more employees, we need more business travelers and visitors, we need more students in the downtown,” said Scott Knies, a consultant and former executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association.

Dillabough and Arrillaga — by signing a slew of restaurants, bars and other merchants in the Fountain Alley building next to the Bank of Italy tower — are attempting to create a more vibrant scene in downtown San Jose.

What’s more, additional restaurants and drinking establishments have begun to sprout on South First and South Second streets.
Plus, Urban Catalyst, headed up by real estate executives Erik Hayden and Joshua Burroughs, hopes to create a “restaurant row” in Paseo de San Antonio, where the real estate firm is completing a redevelopment of the old Camera 12 movie house on South Second Street.

Some of the most dramatic changes might occur with the conversion to apartments of the Bank of Italy tower, crowned by its distinctive spire and cupola.

“Nothing would help more in the historic district of downtown San Jose than getting the lights back on in the Bank of Italy building,” Knies said. “And that includes the light in the beautiful spire of that building.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/06/...l-estate-tech/

[homebucket]

The specs:
- 11 floors, ? ft
- 80 studio units
- 16 of the units will be affordable
- 1,300 sq ft for retail

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/xtf9CbL38zH5Sf2D9

Updated 11-Story Plans For 101 Delmas Avenue, San Jose



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JUNE 29, 2023

Updated plans have been filed for an 11-story residential infill at 101 Delmas Avenue in San Jose, Santa Clara County. The project will replace a single-story structure at the corner of Delmas Avenue and West San Fernando Street with 80 homes. Christopher Hall of MANU Studios is responsible for the application.

The preliminary application plans to use Senate Bill 330 to expedite ministerial approval and increase residential capacity. Of the 80 studios, 16 will be designated as affordable to low-income households. The ground level will include a 1,300-square-foot retail space. San Jose-based Manu Studios is the project architect. Renderings shared by the Bay Area News Group show the 11-story tower with a different design for each corner. The busy facade will be articulated with setbacks, balconies, and various facade materials.

Residents will be across from the San Fernando light rail station, just one stop from Diridon Station. Downtown San Jose is just one block away under a Highway 87 overpass, near to the now-open Adobe North tower designed by Gensler. The tower may eventually be surrounded by development as part of Google’s Downtown West master plan. The 80-acre plan developed by Lendlease is expected to create around 7.3 million square feet of office space, around 4,000 homes, retail, an event space, a hotel, and 15 acres of parks. Construction was expected to have started already, but Google put the project on hold this Spring.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/06/updated-...-san-jose.html

[homebucket]

And the renderings:





https://sfyimby.com/2023/06/updated-...-san-jose.html

[pseudolus]

Originally Posted by homebucket

And the renderings:

the back looks better than the front, with its garish colors

[homebucket]

Some nice TOD incoming to Berryessa.

The specs:
- 195 units (35 studios, 43 1BR, 42 2BR, 40 3BR)
- 100% of the units will be affordable

Affordable housing to be built by San Jose transit center



by Annalise Freimarck
JUNE 29, 2023

VTA is beginning work on a new housing development to boost the Santa Clara County transit agency’s revenue. This time it will be 100% affordable housing.

The agency will use an empty lot next to the Berryessa Transit Center in San Jose to build 195 affordable apartments after signing a contract with Affirmed Housing Group last week. Housing will be available for residents making 60% or less than the county’s median income, with half reserved for those making 50% or less. For a family of four in Santa Clara County, the median income is $168,500.

Each resident will have access to bikes and scooters, and will be given a BART and VTA pass to encourage ridership, according to Rob Wilkins, Northern California vice president of Affirmed Housing Group.

Part of the first floor will be designed as a child care facility, while 46 apartments will provide supportive services for residents who have experienced homelessness.

Affirmed Housing Group is expected to break ground in 2025, with apartments ready for move-in by the end of 2026.

Ron Golem, VTA director of real estate and transit-oriented development, said the agency is “taking it one step at a time” to address San Jose’s housing crisis.

“(It) is going to take many more buildings than this one project, but this is how we go about doing it,” he told San José Spotlight.

The development is part of a deal VTA made with Santa Clara County in 2020 to use Measure A funding to build four developments solely for affordable housing. Living in the county has become more unaffordable, putting the onus on San Jose and other local governments to grant more funding toward affordable housing.

VTA’s board recently increased the transit agency’s affordable housing policy by 5% to make 40% of the housing it builds near transit stations affordable. It also increased affordable housing by 5% to 25% for market-rate construction.

Agency officials are hopeful this development will increase ridership and revenues, which dropped during the pandemic. In 2021, the agency predicted its expenses will exceed revenues by $47.5 million by 2031.

Golem said because of public transportation’s high operating costs, any increase in ridership will boost funds to keep BART in service.

“Most of that money actually helps to cover the cost and so it’s very helpful if we get more riders on the BART extension,” he told San José Spotlight.

VTA expects to build 2,600 affordable homes in the county over the next 20 years, Golem said. The transit agency currently owns 29 development sites, one of which the San Jose City Council approved for hundreds of residences last year.

https://sanjosespotlight.com/afforda...ransit-center/

[homebucket]

Some nice TOD incoming to Tamien.

The specs:
- 569 units (studios, 1BR, 2BR, 3BR)
- 135 of the units will be affordable

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/uUu36xFk8pgtBTzn9

Affordable homes project in San Jose heads toward construction
Transit-oriented project obtains needed financing



SAN JOSE — A big development of affordable homes has landed the financing it needs to start construction this month at a site next to a train station near downtown San Jose.

Tamien Station has obtained about $139 million in funding from an array of government agencies to build the project at 1197 Lick Ave., according to public records and the project’s principal developers, Core Cos. and Republic Urban Properties.

“Our success in securing financing reflects the important opportunity Tamien Station provides to combine critically needed housing and daycare on a major transit hub,” said Richard Truempler, a Core Cos. senior vice president.

The housing would rise next to Tamien Station, which accommodates light rail and Caltrain stops. The complex is slated to begin construction around July 23 and be completed in two years.

In addition to real estate veterans Core Cos. and Republic Urban, the project’s key players include the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing.

Along with housing, the project will include 30,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that will be dedicated to an onsite daycare center, according to the project developers. The developers brought Citibank on board as the primary construction lender for the housing.

The development will consist of 135 apartments that will be made affordable for people who earn 30% to 60% of the area’s median income. As of June 2023, the median income for a family of four in Santa Clara County was $181,300, according to estimates by the state Housing and Community Development Department. This means a four-person household that earns $54,390 to $108,780 in yearly income would be eligible for the Tamien Station housing.

“The project funding consists primarily of a $66 million bond allocation from the state debt allocation panel, $31 million in grants from the state housing agency, up to $25 million from Santa Clara County Measure A funds and $17 million from the city of San Jose. The county financing was recorded in recent days through a construction loan.

The Valley Transportation Authority is providing the site to the project developers through a ground lease of the land for the housing, documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office show.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/0...ech-apartment/

[homebucket]

And the renderings:





https://thecorecompanies.com/project/tamien-station/

[homebucket]

Another one being planned at Capitol.

The specs:
- 203 units
- Affordability component

The site:
https://goo.gl/maps/nDqQH3JUcJWywmJR6

Hundreds of homes and mini village are eyed next to San Jose train stop
VTA and veteran housing firm are teaming up for big project



SAN JOSE — Hundreds of homes could sprout next to a San Jose light rail station and near a busy freeway interchange as part of a potential mini transit village, city public documents show.

An estimated 203 residential units, along with commercial sites such as a cafe, are being eyed near the Capitol light rail station in San Jose at the corner of East Capitol Expressway and Narvaez Avenue.

It also appears that at least some and potentially all of the housing would be affordable, although the plan set on file with the city didn’t specify how many units might qualify.

MidPen Housing, a veteran developer of affordable housing, is listed in the city planning documents as one of the participants in the project. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is also involved, since the project would be built on VTA-owned parcels.

The development would rise on what at present is a park-and-ride lot for the VTA’s train and bus lines.

The homes are being planned for a 2.7-acre site next to the VTA’s Capitol light rail station, according to documents filed with San Jose city planners. The project also is adjacent to State Route 87 and is near the Narvaez Avenue ramps for the highway.

The project would feature two buildings — the first phase of a possible evolving village near the train stop.

One residential structure would total 128 housing units and consist of 126 apartments for residents, along with two manager’s units.

The other structure in phase one would total 75 units, consisting of 74 apartments for residents and one manager’s unit.

The proposal sketches out two more phases for development as well as a new site dedicated to transit parking.

The project also would include open plazas, cafes, a paseo, a library and community spaces and public art areas, the city plans show.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/0...-train-afford/

[homebucket]

Foundation Underway For Platform 16 By Downtown San Jose



BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JULY 17, 2023

Foundation work is nearly complete, with concrete reaching ground level for the North Building at Platform 16 in Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara County. With Devcon nearly through the slowest phase of construction, the project will soon start to materialize the 1.1 million square feet of new office space by the city’s regional transit hub, Diridon Station. The development is a joint venture with Boston Properties, TMG Partners, and Valley Oak Partners.

The 5.4-acre parcel will be transformed with three structures offering a cumulative 1.1 million square feet of office space surrounded by a landscaped community-oriented open space. Crews have started work on the north building, located at 375 Autumn Parkway, containing 390,000 square feet. The central addition, addressed at 325 Autumn Parkway, will create 530,000 square feet. Lastly, the south building at 455 West Julian Street will offer 170,000 square feet. Parking will be included for bicycles and 1,746 cars in a three-floor subterranean garage.

Kohn Pedersen Fox is the project architect. The office campus is designed to balance the urban landscape with natural elements. The three structures are each carved out with stepped terraces populated with greenery, cantilevering, and modulated window frames to bring depth and texture to the block. Describing the desired effect, KPF shares that “bronze in color, the terrace façade contrasts the main wall in materiality and scale, evoking an organic composition that also points to the project’s sustainability.”

https://sfyimby.com/2023/07/foundati...-san-jose.html

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Some nice TOD incoming to Berryessa.

https://sanjosespotlight.com/afforda...ransit-center/

An update for this one.

The specs:
- 10 stories, 195 ft
- 195 units
- All units will be affordable

The current site:
https://goo.gl/maps/aqnjSLo5BMFPgKZ8A

VTA Signs Deal For Affordable Housing At Berryessa Transit Center, San Jose

BY: ANDREW NELSON 5:30 AM ON JULY 23, 2023

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has entered a formal lease agreement to construct a ten-story affordable housing project on the vacant lot next to the Berryessa Transit Center in San Jose, Santa Clara County. Affirmed Housing Group is now working to create 195 units of low-income housing for individuals and families within the planned transit-oriented Urban Village. Construction is expected to start as early as 2026.

The proposal will create a 10-story infill with 195 units for “low-income individuals and families, including the formerly homeless,” according to the project website. Once complete, the structure will be all-electric powered, aiming to receive a Green Point Gold rating. Alongside the affordable housing, VTA imagines populating the 3.3-acre parcel with market-rate housing and a future office building. The three buildings will be intersected with mid-block pedestrian paths leading towards Mabury Road and the Berryessa Station parking garage. Dahlin is the project architect and Cahill will be the general contractor.

The project is one of three structures that would reshape the empty parcel at Berryessa Station Way and Mabury Road and overlooking the BART tracks. Across the railway, the current Berryessa Flea Market and surface parking is expected to be rebuilt as a mixed-use neighborhood dubbed Market Park. The 60-acre plot could eventually host a million square feet of offices, three thousand homes, and retail developed by the current owners of the Flea Market.

https://sfyimby.com/2023/07/vta-sign...-san-jose.html

[homebucket]

And the renderings:









https://sfyimby.com/2023/07/vta-sign...-san-jose.html