Nine months ago when our world was turned upside down with a countywide stay-at-home order, none of us could have predicted the robust housing market we have been experiencing. Many of us were assuming similar outcomes as we experienced during the last great recession, but plummeting prices and mass foreclosures never materialized. In fact, sale...
Food trucks rescue Christmas dinner for San Jose homeless
A sea of RVs lined the road to CityTeam’s men’s shelter in San Jose, where the nonprofit distributed its annual Christmas Day dinner. Among them were two food trucks. Having to change plans after a case of COVID-19 was identified at the shelter and kitchen, the organization had 48 hours to find a way to...
How San Jose homeless shelters are adapting to the COVID-19 surge
COVID-19 has been tearing through sheltered living spaces in San Jose, but at least one operator of such facilities has managed to keep all of its women residents safe during the pandemic. CityTeam, which offers temporary housing to people in need, has so far kept its four women’s shelters in San Jose COVID-free, although it has had...
COVID-19 tries to cancel Christmas dinner for San Jose homeless — but fails
With a COVID-19 positive case forcing a quarantine and temporary closure of CityTeam’s kitchen, the San Jose nonprofit is scrambling to make sure its annual Christmas Day feast doesn’t sour. “We normally feed the homeless every day,” said CityTeam spokesperson Darlene Tenes. “But Christmas Day is a particularly special day because we invite them all...
Plenty of trash but little cash in San Jose program to pay homeless to pick up garbage
Weeks after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced a program to pay homeless people cash to pick up garbage around the city, people in the program say trash was left piling up and they weren’t paid for weeks — until San José Spotlight asked about it. On Dec. 19, a day after an inquiry from...
Tombstones honor 196 homeless people who died in Silicon Valley
Row after row of makeshift tombstones filled a plaza outside a county building in San Jose, each with the name of a homeless person who died on the streets of Silicon Valley this past year. “If we don’t do this, then people just don’t recognize the enormity of the problem and how many people are...
Rent prices fall 7.7% in San Jose, but mostly from a drop in demand for luxury rentals
Apartment rent prices in San Jose are falling, but that might not do a whole lot to help renters struggling to make ends meet in the pandemic-slammed local economy. The average rent in 2020 was $2,531 a month, according to a new report from apartment finder service RentCafé. That was down 7.7% from last year, one...
Airport panel rejects San Jose’s Diridon, Google project plans
A critical airport commission unanimously voted against San Jose’s Diridon plan and Google’s downtown megacampus, taking issue with proposed building heights that would disrupt the city’s international airport. Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commissioner Glenn Hendricks admonished San Jose for failing to answer commissioner’s questions. “I’m extremely disappointed in the city of San Jose...
Facebook, Destination: Home partner on new fund for extremely low-income housing
An affordable housing complex with 123 units in downtown San Jose is one of the first projects to be funded by a new Community Housing Fund announced Wednesday morning. The fund was launched using $150 million of a $1 billion commitment from Facebook to affordable housing, in addition to $5 million from local nonprofit Destination:...
San Jose clears homeless camp despite concerns over COVID-19
San Jose started dismantling a homeless encampment this week to make way for an upcoming trail renovation, flouting health recommendations and stoking fears the action will lead to the spread of COVID-19. While placing people in housing is the best option, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends allowing people in encampments to stay...