The developer of a massive residential, office and retail development at the former Vallco shopping mall in Cupertino is reducing affordable housing by 60% and office space by 25% to make the project “financially feasible.” Sand Hill Property Company delivered a revised plan to Cupertino’s city manager Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving, and the...
Santa Clara County sues over federal housing grant changes
Santa Clara County and a coalition of 10 other local governments and nonprofits are filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration for upending federal grants for permanent housing. The lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges changes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has made to federal Continuum of Care grants are unlawful and...
San Jose’s revised preservation rules clear way for park project
San Jose officials have amended the city’s historic preservation policy in order to advance a long-delayed project that would bring millions of dollars of new amenities, including a music pavilion, to St. James Park. The measure — which does not specifically name the park project — sparked widespread pushback from local preservationists who warn it...
San Jose homeless motel residents must move or face eviction
Homeless residents who moved from San Jose’s largest encampment into shelters earlier this year are being asked to move again — or end up back on the streets. San Jose moved hundreds of people living at Columbus Park into five motels converted to homeless shelters when it swept the park this summer. Now they’re being...
San Jose wants to raise rents in mobile home parks
San Jose mobile home residents say the city blindsided them by proposing changes that will increase rents. The Housing Department is considering an update to its mobile home rent policy that would include a one-time rent increase up to 10% whenever a mobile home is sold, among other changes. Under the existing policy, property owners...
San Jose officials want denser housing on former golf course
East San Jose’s longtime Duino family is ready to let go of its 115-acre former golf course. But they’re caught between clashing visions over the future of the property. City leaders want more density than developers and some neighbors had in mind. A letter obtained by San José Spotlight shows city planners earlier this year...
San Jose issues wage theft fine for affordable housing project
A subcontractor for an affordable housing project in San Jose is facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in city fines over alleged wage violations. The allegations center around the work to construct a seven-story apartment building located at 748-750 W. San Carlos St. known as Mariposa Place. San Jose Department of Public Works inspectors have cited...
San Jose to study apartments with single staircases
San Jose has taken its first tentative steps to soften longstanding building rules requiring all new apartment buildings — even relatively small ones — to include at least two stairways. Housing advocates have campaigned for years to scrap such requirements for mid-rise residential buildings, arguing they significantly add to the cost of constructing new homes....
Silicon Valley real estate development lowest since 2013
It is the best of times and worst of times for commercial real estate and development in Silicon Valley, according to the newest quarterly report from economic think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. The good news is Silicon Valley developers completed 5.6 million square feet of new office and industrial space in the first nine...
Silicon Valley lawmakers speak out against homeless housing cuts
Santa Clara County leaders have gathered to denounce President Donald Trump’s actions to cut funding for permanent housing programs. Congressmembers Sam Liccardo and Zoe Lofgren and others are calling for a reversal of these cuts, which would cap federal funds for permanent housing at 30% and shift the rest to temporary housing programs. The county...