860 West San Carlos Street in San Jose shifts from market-rate to affordable housing

A proposed 12-story apartment building in San Jose's Midtown is switching from market-rate to 100% affordable housing. It is also getting more units, going from 263 to 272 units. The project is backed by Swenson and Republic Urban Properties.

The main reason for the change seems to be financing. Affordable housing has more potential funding sources. Falling interest rates should also help move this project around.

There is still no ETA but updated permits is a good sign that the project is still alive and kicking.

Source: SF YIMBY

San Jose becomes the first city in California to allow homeowners to sell ADUs

In order to solve for housing shortages, skyrocketing rents, and dizzying mortgages we have to think outside the box. San Jose just took a significant step to increase the housing supply and provide more low cost options.

San Jose already is one of the most accommodating cities when it comes to building an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on your property. On a typical single-family lot, a homeowner can build a detached ADU up to 1,000 SQFT or an attached ADU up to 800 SQFT. Now, instead of just renting out the ADU, you can actually sell it as a condominium.

This will encourage more people to built them in their backyards and open up low-cost homeownership for more people, especially those early on in their careers. Some ADUs are quite nice, like the 500 SQFT one mentioned in the source link below.

San Jose is already receiving four times as many requests to build ADUs as San Francisco. In fact, even homebuilders like Robson Homes are including them as options for new housing projects in San Jose. 

Source: ABC7 News

1,472 new homes headed to Seely Avenue in North San Jose

There are only a few empty lots left for development in North San Jose, one one of those is at Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue right along the Coyote Creek. The land currently has farmland and orchards, which somehow have survived over the decades right in the middle of Silicon Valley.

The proposal on the table today would add 1,472 residential units and retail between three developers: Hanover Company, Pacific Companies, and SummerHill Homes. The total project would be a whopping 2.3 million SQFT, with 1.7 million SQFT for housing, half a million SQFT for parking, and 16,120 SQFT for retail. 

Most of the housing would be 1,140 market-rate apartments which would wrap around a new public park. 178 units would be affordable housing and 154 units would be townhomes. Of the apartments, 159 would be studios, 737 are one-bedrooms, 368 are two-bedrooms, and 54 are three-bedrooms. Parking would support 1,967 cars and 944 bicycles.

Construction would last about four years from the initial groundbreaking, for which there is no ETA yet.

Source: SF YIMBY

New renders for impressive Willow Glen apartment midrise

A midrise proposal at 940 Willow Street has a new look. The 86-foot-tall project will be just a couple blocks away from San Jose's ritzy Downtown Willow Glen neighborhood. Excellent restaurants like The Table, Copia, and Bill's are a five minute walk away.

The building will total 183,750 SQFT, half of which is for housing, 15,600 SQFT is amenity space, a whopping 56,200 SQFT will be for parking, and 1,800 SQFT is allocated for retail. There will be a total of 126 apartment units (26 designated as affordable) and 135 parking spaces. The product mix will be: 52 studios, 50 one-bedrooms, 20 two-bedrooms, and four townhome-style units with three bedrooms at street level.

The design is beautiful, especially for a midrise building. I like the pool area and podium cutouts. I've included a few bonus renders on other projects this design studio is working on at the bottom which are also in San Jose.

A single-story commercial building will need to be torn down (image below) and I think you'll agree the tradeoff is worth it. There is no current ETA, but the sooner the better.

Source: SF YIMBY, siliconvalleyjoe from Skyscraper City

What this area looks like now in Willow Glen:

Bonus render for another proposal at 4th & Julian in Downtown San Jose:

Bonus render for another proposal at Alvin Ave. in East San Jose:

372 apartments move forward at a former San Jose DMV site

A former DMV in central San Jose near History Park and the intersection of Senter and Tully is going to be transformed into a 372-unit apartment complex called "The Place." The apartments would be split across three seven-story buildings with a more interesting design then you would expect from your typical midrise.

The apartments themselves would range from studios to two-bedroom units with two bathrooms. 112 of the apartments will be studios, 200 are one-bedroom, and 60 are two-bedroom units.

The one-story office building that housed the DMV would be demolished to make way from this project. The neighborhood is mostly office and industrial with a Costco across the street. The best escape-games in San Jose are a couple blocks away at OMESCAPE and you also have Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, History Park, the Japanese Friendship Gardens, Kelly Park, Sharks Ice, and the San Jose Giants less than a mile away. It's actually a pretty decent area to start building dense housing.

The next step is a series of city reviews this month.

Source: The Mercury News

Building code update would make it much easier for anyone to own an EV in San Jose

San Jose is essentially ground zero for electric cars. Nearly 30% of new car sales are electrified and it has one of the highest concentrations of EVs in the world. Next week the San Jose City Council is going to vote on whether to make EVs even more accessible to everyone. The proposal is to have each multi-family residence with parking to have at least once space that is EV-ready.

Charging an EV where you live is a lot more convenient than going to to a charging station. It's extremely easy to charge where you live for San Jose homeowners with a detached home or even a townhome, but things get complicated when you live in an apartment complex.

It's also worth mentioning that this would not be retroactive. The vote would be to update the building code for all future multi-family developments. 

Opponents could argue that we desperately need housing and this would be another cost to discourage builders, but given how the car market is going I think most people will expect this in any new apartment they rent in the next 5-10 years. Also, a fair compromise would be to require a 120v outlet instead of the more expensive, but much faster 220v. A standard 120v outlet is cheap and powerful enough to add 50-60 miles per night on an EV, which is enough for 99% of drivers. 

Source: San Jose Spotlight

New housing development proposed in North San Jose

250 apartments are being eyed in North San Jose at North First Street between Charcot and East Brokaw. Currently there is a 122,500 SQFT six-story office building on the site. It's not clear if this is an office conversion or they are planning to tear down and replace the building. Given the size of the building there already, my bet is on an office-to-housing conversion.

Source: The Mercury News

San Jose approves 913 apartments east of Downtown

San Jose has given the green light for a major housing project near Little Portugal and Roosevelt Park. The 913 apartment development will be one of the anchors of the Five Wounds Urban Village plan, centered around a future BART station and a historic 109-year-old church.

There will be a total of six buildings, and 407 of the units will be priced as below market-rate. Most of those "affordable" units will be priced for people earning up to 80% of the median income, which is $96,000 for a single person and $137,000 for a household of four.

235 of the apartment will be built on 1.5 acres at 1298 Tripp Avenue and will be called Residencias Arianna. It will replace 40 existing apartments and two single-family homes with a single six-story building.

The other five buildings will be on 3.3 acres of land at 1325 E. Julian St. Three buildings will rise to be 10 stories tall and the fourth will be six stories. This is respectable density for this neighborhood.

The project also includes 15,000 SQFT of commercial space on the ground floors and 267 parking spaces shared among all of the apartments. That's right, not everyone will get a space. However with multiple bus lines and eventually BART servicing the area, it might be one of those few neighborhoods in San Jose where you can get around without a car.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2024 and it will take around three years to complete.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

518 new apartments in San Jose's Japantown are already 95% leased

Shea Properties and Ivanhoe Cambridge launched Sixth and Jackson luxury apartments in Japantown earlier this year, named after the cross streets where you can find the 518-unit complex. Even though it just opened pretty recently, the property is already 95% leased. This goes to show how strong the San Jose housing market is right now, even with floorplans starting at $2,656/mo for a studio and scaling to $5,200/mo for a three bedroom unit.

The project is split between two seven-story buildings with tons of amenities like a yoga room, rooftop lounge, dog run, co-working spaces, meeting rooms, a spin room, outdoor entertainment areas, Shea Properties also built a new public park between the buildings called Heinlenville Park, named after the person that helped transform the neighborhood in the late 19th century. The park will eventually have a $30 million arts incubator and community center, but construction on that project hasn't started yet.

It's quite an upgrade for Japantown, one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Jose. It's great that they were able to integrate so many community elements into the project and there is still quite a bit of retail on the ground floor available for lease to further enhance the area in the future.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose luxury apartment complex on The Alameda may become affordable housing in 2024

In an interesting pivot, Catalyst Housing Group is trying to acquire Modera - The Alameda and convert the property into affordable housing. The big question is... why?

Modera is a 168-unit apartment building that is being marketed as luxury apartments. It's literally located next to a Whole Foods and is blocks away from the SAP Center, Diridon Station, and the rest of Downtown San Jose. The Alameda is also a great neighborhood in its own right. 

While I think for-sale affordable housing will be better for the neighborhood as residents will stay in the community longer than those in apartments, it raises a lot of questions as to why Modera is for sale in the first place. It it struggling to maintain a profit or do the owners just want to cash out? Have they lost optimism in the location after Google delayed their Downtown West plans? (It's very close to that as well).

If anyone has additional insights or perhaps even lives in the building, please post your thoughts in the comments or on X (Twitter).

Source: SVBJ

Affordable housing coming to Buena Vista neighborhood in Midtown San Jose

259 Meridian Avenue is the current site of a few 1-story commercial buildings built in 1958 that are tucked away behind W. San Carlos. This is the Buena Vista neighborhood or Midtown between Downtown San Jose, and Santana Row/Valley Fair (Uptown).

Developer Milestone Housing Group is proposing to build a 154-unit six-story project on this site. This developer specializes in affordable homes and teams with nonprofit organizations. The housing they build is typical for individuals and families that have a wide variety of specific needs, including veterans with disabilities, senior housing, and permanent housing for the unhoused.

This was just filed with the San Jose Planning Department, and there is no official ETA.

Source: The Merc

380 North 1st apartment project moves forward in North San Jose

A seven-story apartment project at 380 North 1st street is moving forward to environmental review. The proposal is an infill project that will replace a two-story commercial building at the edge of Downtown San Jose (5 minute walk to St. James Park).

The apartment building will have 118 homes, 18 of which will be designated as affordable units. There will be 74 parking spaces at the ground level using a car stacking system that will stack up to three cars on top of one another. There will also be parking for 30 bicycles and a bike cafe. An amenity deck is situated on the third floor and a clubroom with a balcony on the sixth floor.

Overall it's a significant upgrade from what was there before and is close to both Light Rail and transit lines (Buses 72 and 73 stop across the street).

Source: SF YIMBY

San Jose housing project upsized in "Uptown"

The site of the former Century 24 domed movie theater at 741 South Winchester Blvd. is destined to become an affordable housing project. The developers SyRes Properties LLC is increasing the number of units to 264 in a seven-story residential building.

The project would have 35 studios, 113 one-bedroom apartments, and 116 two-bedroom apartments. 20% of the units units would be considered affordable, which allow the complex to qualify as a housing development for very low, low, or moderate-income households. This designation allows the developer to apply for a "builder's remedy" which not only accelerates the project through city planning but enables to builder to add more units to the project.

The project would also include a community room, a 3rd floor outdoor space, a gym, and co-working spaces for residents. However, the biggest draw might be that is is just blocks away from Santana Row and other development projects around the Winchester Mystery House.

Source: The Merc

New permit activity for Orchard Residential in Downtown San Jose

A 30-story apartment tower called Orchard Residential is slowly moving forward. Plans were approved last November, but some revisions were requested such as cutting car parking by half. They are hoping to receive their full building permit by fall to proceed with a pretty stunning 294-foot tall project.

The building will have 502,340 SQFT dedicated to residences, 13,860 SQFT of ground-floor retail, 104 parking spaces for cars, and 176 spaces for bicycles. The renders below are not just concepts--they are actually planning to plant 312 fruit trees and additional plants across the facade which is something more projects should consider doing.

Source: SF YIMBY, Dirk_Birkin from Skyscraper City

List of major Downtown San Jose projects under development

After many years of relatively generic proposals for Downtown San Jose throughout the early 2000s and 2010s, we are starting to see some bolder proposals that better reflect the diversity and uniqueness of Silicon Valley. 

I especially love projects that combine historic buildings with newer elements above or beside the original building, like what Bayview Development is doing at 150 E. Santa Clara.

For more details on each of these projects, hit the source link below.

Source: SVBJ

33 S. Montgomery St. (1.2 million SQF office, retail, and restaurants)

150 E. Santa Clara (75,285 SQFT Office + Retail)

The Terraine (319-unit residential, 12,263 SQFT of retail)

The Mark (Housing for 1,000 students)

Woz Way (1 million SQFT office, 10,100 SQFT retail)

More homes to replace surface parking near Roosevelt Park

213 homes are being planned at the corner of North 17th Street and East St. John Street, right on the outskirts of Downtown San Jose in the Julian-St. James neighborhood. 113 of the units are affordable family-oriented apartments, 64 would be dedicated to seniors, and 36 will be for-sale townhomes offered at affordable prices.

The family apartments will have 8,300 SQFT of amenities and an open-space courtyard while the senior apartments would have 10,400 SQFT of amenity space and a courtyard of their own. The townhomes will have a paseo running through them.

The project includes an 80-year old building that served as IBM's first operations on the West Coast. The developers are looking to somehow incorporate that building into the project.

Source: The Merc

San Jose dethrones New York as most expensive rental market

Cheers to awards we don't want to win! In June the San Jose metro became the most expensive place to rent a home in the United States--beating out both New York and San Francisco. The median rent for a typical apartment, condo, or single family home in San Jose hit a staggering $3,411 per month. This just edged out the notoriously expensive New York Metro, which came in at $3,405.

Third place on the list was also a surprise. San Diego surpassed our neighbor up north with a median rent of $3,175/mo. San Francisco was fourth at $3,168 and Boston rounded out the top five at $3,045.

Source: TheRealDeal, Discophil from Skyscraper City

Affordable housing in Berryessa, San Jose

The VTA is planning to use an empty lot next to the Berryessa Transit Center (BART & bus terminal) to build 195 affordable apartments. Housing will only be available to those making 60% or less than the county's median income. For a family of four that would mean they would need to earn less than $100k a year. 46 of the apartments will be used to provide support for residents who have experienced homelessness.

The render looks pretty nice for affordable housing. Each resident will have access to bikes and scooters as well as get a free BART and VTA pass to encourage more use of public transit. Part of the first floor will be a child care facility, another surprising amenity for a project like this.

Measure A funds will be used to pay for the project as well three other projects specifically designated as affordable housing. VTA plans to build a total of 2,600 affordable homes over the next 20 years.

This specific project is expected to break ground in 2026 with completion slated for 2028.

Source: San Jose Spotlight