Days before Christmas, Zayna Herring, her 4-year-old son Alex and her roommate sat in the courthouse in downtown San Jose, worried they’d soon be homeless. “It’s a lot of stress,” Herring told San José Spotlight. “Everything takes money, and that’s what we don’t have.” Herring, a single mom working two jobs while attending college full-time,...
Related Santa Clara developer to appeal decision over wages
A development firm worth $60 billion intends to challenge a state decision that it must pay prevailing wages to workers on its massive project planned for Santa Clara. The $8 billion Related Santa Clara project, from New York City-based firm The Related Companies, benefits from public subsidies granted by the city. Therefore, it’s considered a public works...
San Jose plans hundreds of homes on church land
Hundreds of affordable homes are poised to be built at a Christian megachurch in central San Jose. Mayor Sam Liccardo on Thursday announced plans for an affordable housing complex in the parking lot of Cathedral of Faith on Canoas Garden Avenue. The project, developed by Sand Hill Property Company, includes 237 apartments across two buildings on a 13.4-acre parcel. Liccardo...
Hundreds of people died on Silicon Valley streets in 2022
As 2022 comes to a close, advocates are remembering the 246 homeless people who died on Silicon Valley streets. About 70 residents gathered in McEntee Plaza at Santa Clara County Government Center in San Jose Wednesday for a memorial service featuring rows of makeshift tombstones, each with the name of a homeless person who died...
Silicon Valley offices less empty than other regions
In the wake of the pandemic, Silicon Valley is faring better than other nearby areas when it comes to office vacancies. But researchers say decisions on work culture at major tech companies could change the dynamic. That’s according to a recent report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley and commercial real estate broker JLL, which focused on...
What’s next for San Jose’s Columbus Park?
After clearing the city’s largest homeless camp around Columbus Park, San Jose is moving ahead with plans to revitalize the location and change its name. The 70-year-old park currently bares the name of the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, whose legacy is criticized due to his exploitation of Native Americans. After two rounds of public voting...
Chinese developer with multiple San Jose projects arrested
The head of a China-based development firm with major land holdings in San Jose has been arrested on allegations of using bribery and kickbacks to gain development approvals in San Francisco. Zhang Li, whose Z&L Properties has two long-stalled development projects in San Jose, was detained in London on Nov. 30 on a warrant from the...
UPDATE: Settlement paves way for more homes in North San Jose
San Jose has cleared the last legal obstacle facing the construction of thousands of homes in the north part of the city. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a settlement with Santa Clara County, ending a decade-long legal dispute that has blocked San Jose from pursuing housing developments in the northern...
What happens to the homeless cleared from San Jose’s largest camp?
The encampment near Mineta San Jose International Airport is gone and a makeshift RV camp at Columbus Park is almost barren, but dozens of homeless residents still have no place to go as their futures remain uncertain. Dubbed by some as the “Field of Dreams,” the baseball field at the corner of Asbury and Irene...
VTA disputes San Jose’s plan for tiny homes
San Jose plans to move forward with building housing for homeless residents on VTA property, but there appears to be disagreement over the inevitability of the project. The City Council voted unanimously last week to pursue tiny home projects at the Cerone and Cottle VTA sites, located in North and South San Jose, respectively. Tiny...