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July 31, 2025

School of Arts and Culture Receives Capacity-Building Grant to Advance their Vision for East San Jose

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SV@Home congratulates the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza (SOAC) for receiving a $50,000 grant through Housing Trust Silicon Valley’s Capital for Capacity Grant Program. This investment recognizes SOAC’s leadership as a trusted cultural anchor and supports its growth as a community-based developer of affordable housing. As a member of SV@Home’s Community Roots Collaborative (CRC), SOAC is building the capacity needed to lead equitable, community-driven development in East San Jose.

SV@Home congratulates The School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza (SOAC) on being selected as one of five grantees in Housing Trust Silicon Valley’s new Capital for Capacity Grant Program. With a $50,000 grant award, SOAC, from East San Jose, joins a cohort of community-based organizations working to grow their capacity as affordable housing developers and advance equitable, community-led development across the Bay Area.

The Capital for Capacity Grant Program is designed to support emerging and BIPOC-led housing developers by investing in their internal systems, from financial management to staffing and partnership building, so they can effectively compete for future capital and development opportunities. As Housing Trust Silicon Valley CEO Noni Ramos noted, “The strength of our region’s affordable housing ecosystem is rooted in the capacity of community-based developers who are deeply connected to the neighborhoods they serve.”

This recognition builds on SOAC’s longstanding leadership in East San Jose, where the organization has served as a cultural anchor and trusted convener for over two decades. SOAC is also a member of SV@Home’s Community Roots Collaborative (CRC), a cohort of Santa Clara County-based nonprofits working to grow their readiness to lead affordable housing and community-based development. Participants in the CRC gain not only practical tools and connections, but also a boldness of vision that comes from collective imagining—the shared practice of envisioning what is possible when communities most impacted by housing injustice lead the way in shaping policies, systems, and futures rooted in equity and belonging.

According to a recent San José Spotlight article, SOAC plans to use the grant to support the purchase of a mostly vacant property on Alum Rock Avenue, directly across from the Mexican Heritage Plaza, as part of the launch of La Avenida, San Jose’s first designated cultural district. Envisioned as a 6-acre mixed-use development, La Avenida will bring affordable housing, social services, and small business space to the Mayfair neighborhood, a community facing mounting pressures of displacement. SOAC has already raised over 90% of the district’s $30 million goal and is calling on community partners to help close the final funding gap.

“The school is well-positioned to lead the further development of an important cultural district in our city, which will demonstrate how the arts can be pivotal in building community health, social cohesion, and economic vitality,” said Alexandra Urbanowski, CEO of SV Creates and SOAC board member, in the San José Spotlight article.

At a time when federal funding for the arts is being cut, this local investment serves as a powerful reminder of the need to support cultural institutions that act as economic and civic anchors in historically underserved neighborhoods.

For SOAC, this grant supports both immediate acquisition efforts and the broader capacity needed to steward a major community-driven initiative. As part of SV@Home’s CRC, SOAC is one of several organizations receiving peer connection and tailored support to deepen their development expertise and amplify community impact.

We are proud to see CRC cohort members, such as SOAC, leading the way in transforming neighborhood development into a tool for cultural preservation, equity, and economic opportunity.