San Jose owns more than 1,250 properties including City Hall, parks and revenue generators like the San Jose International Airport. But there’s no consolidated inventory which makes management and maintenance difficult, a recent city audit revealed. Whenever a question about a city-owned property comes up, officials have to do extensive research across departments and use...
Without her grandma’s house to fall back on, San Jose resident Gem Schou and her parents would be forced to move out of Santa Clara County or move from house to house, renting. Schou, a 19-year-old cashier, believes the housing shortage in Santa Clara County is a crisis. When she moves out of her grandma’s...
High-rise developments are flowing through the construction pipeline in downtown San Jose, fueled by investor money and tax incentives—and it’s going to be that way for the next few years. The spur in development is due to opportunity zones, economically challenged areas where investors can receive federal tax breaks for putting money toward revitalization. While the pandemic...
Washington, D.C.—California was front and center during a virtual congressional hearing last week over whether expanding federal housing vouchers could help the growing homelessness crisis. The vouchers are part of a federal program to assist low-income families, elderly and disabled residents with affording housing. “Wages for those below the median income have not kept pace...
San Jose Flea Market vendors are demanding its owners lock them into 5-year leases and provide at least three years of notice if the market will be closed or relocated. Those are just a few of the demands outlined in a new letter issued by the Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association obtained by San José...
The high costs of building in San Jose, among the highest in the state, imperil the supply of a crucial source of financing for affordable housing: state tax credits. “Each year, these programs change their funding requirements,” Michael Lane, state policy director at urban planning think tank SPUR, told San José Spotlight. “It takes multiple years to put...
Zack Anderson only pays about $350 a month in rent thanks to housing subsidies from a local nonprofit—but not for the past eight months. He said he’s been holding off on payments because his South San Jose apartment is infested with bedbugs, mildew and needs urgent maintenance. The apartment is managed by Downtown Streets Team,...
While activists maintain that San Jose’s housing policies are inherently segregated, a study undertaken by the city shows just how deep racial disparities go. “The main takeaway is the legacy of past segregation is still very much alive,” said Kristen Clements, division manager of the policy group within the city’s housing department. “It’s still visible...
COVID-19 restrictions in the region are winding down, and so is San Jose’s largest temporary emergency shelter. South Hall, an 80,000-square foot space at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in downtown, will shutter its emergency COVID-19 shelter by July 15. It will be cleaned and turned over to Team San Jose, the city’s visitor and...
The idea of creating legal tent cities for San Jose’s homeless people — or sanctioned encampments as they’re called — once again died inside the City Council chambers earlier this year. It isn’t the first time San Jose lawmakers flirted with the idea. In 2015, then-Councilmember Don Rocha led the charge to create encampments a...
