On Wednesday August 8th, the Santa Clara Planning Commission unanimously approved the zoning changes and tentative map for the Agrihood, moving the project forward to the City Council for final action.  The CORE Companies is developing the Agrihood, a planned 361-home development with a 1.7-acre urban agricultural open space and production farm which will serve as the community hub. The site – formerly home to the UC Davis Bay Area Research Extension Center – has lain empty for over 15 years.

The project has been talked about since 2000 – Planning Commissioner Becker noted that he was 15 when he first heard about the project, and now he is 33. The six-acre parcel was purchased by Santa Clara in 2006, but Redevelopment Agency dissolution delayed the project’s progress. In 2015, the City launched the current planning process, selecting the CORE Companies to develop the new community vision of an Agrihood. The new development will include 165 affordable senior homes, 160 mixed income apartments, and 36 townhomes aimed at first-time homebuyers.

At the meeting, 22 speakers spoke up during public comment, the vast majority in support. We want to thank all of the SV@Home partners who came out in support of the project!  Over the course of the night, representatives from the Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Greenbelt Alliance, South Bay YIMBY, TransForm, League of Women Voters of San Jose and Santa Clara, the Mindful Aging Project, African Community Health Institute, and Mindful Ways, spoke in favor of the development, along with members of the surrounding community.

The development is projected to go before the Santa Clara City Council in early October. Sign on to our petition in support of the Agrihood here!