On February 5th, the San Jose City Council voted to approve the first three affordable housing developments selected in response to a $100 million Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) published last August.  Eight additional projects were also selected, with staff expected to bring those forward for formal council approval in the coming weeks and months.

These 11 developments will add a total of 1,144 new affordable homes in the city. Added to the pipeline of projects under development, San Jose now will have 2,000 affordable units in some stage of the development process. That means that the city is over 20% of the way toward its 10,000 unit goal announced by the Mayor in the fall of 2017.

Of the new homes, 297 will be permanent supportive housing for extremely low-income individuals and families. The city’s investment is expected to leverage another $500 million in funding from other public and private sources, with many projects seeking to include Measure A funding from Santa Clara County.

The three projects that received council approval last week are:

1. A $7,176,640 commitment to Charities Housing Development Corporation for the Page Street Apartments, an 81-unit studio development with 27 units of permanent supportive housing located near Meridian and San Carlos Streets in San Jose’s Midtown Neighborhood.
2. An $11,623,320 loan commitment to Satellite Affordable Housing Associates for the development of a project located on Balbach Street near the San Jose Convention Center. This new affordable development will offer 86 new affordable homes.
3. A loan in the amount of $9,415,000 to First Community Housing for the Roosevelt Park Apartments, located on 21st Street near Santa Clara Street.  Forty of the development’s 79 homes will be set aside for permanent supportive housing, with ten targeted to youth transitioning out of foster care and ten set aside for developmentally disabled individuals and families.

San Jose Housing Department staff has been creative and thoughtful in identifying resources for new affordable development, despite the loss of its main source of funding– the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund– in 2011. Hats off to the staff and the City for their great work. We look forward to seeing the next eight projects come to the council!

Stay tuned to SV@Home’s Advocacy Page for more information about you can support affordable housing in San Jose!