A bill to establish affordable housing in California is making its way through the state Senate after a successful committee vote—but not without revisions. Assembly Bill 309, also referred to as the Social Housing Act, is authored by San Jose Assemblymember Alex Lee. The bill proposes social housing, a technique brought to fame by countries...
How a developer plans to bypass San Jose building requirements
A Denver-based developer is using a controversial tool to force through plans to demolish a nearly seven-decade-old swim and tennis club in San Jose to make way for housing. After facing pushback from city staff last year over its initial plans to raze the San Jose Swim and Racquet Club near Willow Glen to build...
These historic San Jose buildings are at risk
Historic buildings facing redevelopment in San Jose reflect a growing divide between preservationists and city leaders, as critics say the push for development often leads to neglect of older structures. The Preservation Action Council of San Jose released its second annual list of eight endangered buildings last month. The list highlights renowned buildings such as...
Santa Clara County property values propel higher
The value of all real estate and business property in Santa Clara County jumped up by $41.2 billion last year, despite a contracting market in the latter half of 2022. That topline figure represents a 6.6% increase over the prior year, according to Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone’s 2023 Assessment Roll. Real estate and...
San Jose wants to help renters fight evictions
Following a tsunami of evictions, San Jose is looking at ways to help residents from losing their homes, and heading off the problem before it reaches the courts. The eviction issue has skyrocketed in San Jose, especially after the expiration of COVID-19 pandemic-era tenant protections. Toward the end of 2022, hundreds of San Jose residents...
What’s next for empty Safeway in downtown San Jose
A prominent commercial space in downtown San Jose is being taken over by a new business, following more than four years of vacancy. OneMedAll, an oral wellness and health consulting company based in San Jose, is planning to open its first customer-facing location at 100 S. Second St., the same space where a Safeway shuttered...
Dilapidated San Jose church repairs put on hold
A plan by San Jose officials to protect a historic former church that has been all but ignored by its owner is now in limbo. The roughly 120-year-old former First Church of Christ Scientist near St. James Park in downtown may continue to be allowed to wither, as a proposal to spend $200,000 of city money...
Why bother buying a home in San Jose?
A recent national report is putting San Jose on the map for all the wrong reasons. The city is the toughest place to buy a home with the worst price-to-rent ratio, according to an analysis by real estate data company Clever. The company ranked 50 of the most populous U.S. metros with the goal of...
UPDATE: San Jose abandons affordable housing preservation proposal
After years of deliberation and analysis, hundreds of public comments and heated jabs hurled between San Jose councilmembers, a controversial housing preservation proposal is dead. The San Jose City Council voted 9-2 to reject the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, which would’ve given qualified nonprofits the ability to make the first offer on...
When will downtown San Jose get another grocery store?
The once-busy corner of Second and San Fernando streets in San Jose that was home to a Safeway has been vacant for three years, and retailers are not jumping at the chance to fill the space. Safeway closed in 2019, after opening in 2009 to great fanfare. It was the only grocery store at the time...