San Jose is eliminating a long-standing development requirement to make way for more affordable housing amid a growing homelessness crisis. Under a decades-old policy, affordable housing projects built within the city’s urban villages, or designated areas planned around public transportation, must dedicate the ground floor to commercial spaces—something lawmakers hoped would spur job growth and...
Why downtown San Jose struggles to find its sense of place
For decades, downtown San Jose has struggled to claim its centrality in Silicon Valley, but the metropolitan core is on the verge of a transformative era, architecture experts say. At the heart of California’s third largest city, many buildings in downtown San Jose aren’t particularly striking—or accurately reflect the status of a city that dubs...
San Jose officials exploring more potential Project Homekey sites
San Jose officials are quietly inquiring about hotels that might fit the criteria to acquire through Project Homekey funds in 2022. Mayor Sam Liccardo recently contacted the owner of two hotels—the Quality Inn on 13th Street and the Tully Inn on Tully Road—to see if they might be a good fit for the Project Homekey...
UPDATE: San Jose council delays potential Calle Willow rezoning
Small businesses owners in San Jose’s Calle Willow district are fearing displacement. A delayed rezoning vote on their neighborhood isn’t likely to help assuage their fears. The San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to delay a vote to remove Willow Street, known to residents as Calle Willow, from a city plan to increase building height...
San Jose expands investigation of labor violations at emergency housing sites
San Jose is expanding its investigation of illegal labor practices, including wage theft, at emergency housing projects handled by Habitat for Humanity, but there’s no set date for when workers will get paid. The city’s Public Works Department is demanding $319,631.46 in restitution for workers from Veev Build, a subcontractor, for various alleged labor violations reported by...
San Jose mayoral candidate wants to upend state housing law
A San Jose mayoral candidate is campaigning against a controversial state law to alter zoning in single-family neighborhoods. Councilmember Dev Davis has repeatedly hammered SB 9 on social media and in a recent op-ed for opening residential neighborhoods to higher-density development. She became the first person in the state to sign an initiative for a 2022...
Commercial real estate investments soar in Silicon Valley
Commercial real estate sales boomed in Silicon Valley last quarter, but vacancies remain high throughout the region. A surge in investment activity between July and September brought year-to-date aggregate commercial real estate sales in the South Bay to $6.3 billion. That’s the highest sales volume for the region since 2015, according to a new report...
The roadmap to San Jose’s Project Homekey proposals
With the recent influx in state and federal funding for homeless housing, San Jose is racing to add roughly 550 units of permanent and interim housing across the city. In September, Mayor Sam Liccardo and several councilmembers proposed a lofty goal to provide 2,300 new permanent and transitional housing units by the end of 2022...
Housing might replace shuttered Denny’s in Campbell
A 45-year-old local fixture in Campbell abruptly closed last month and could become a new housing development. The Denny’s restaurant at 2060 South Bascom Avenue in Campbell operated at the location since 1976. Two weeks ago, it shuttered with little notice. “We regret to inform you that as of 10/31/21 at 2 p.m., Denny’s has...
Santa Clara County foster youth to help design new facility
Foster youth are getting a brand new community center with permanent housing in San Jose—and will have a say in its design. The Parkmoor Hub, being developed by Allied Housing, will include 81 units of affordable and supportive housing, with half for transitional-age foster youth and their children. It’s conveniently located near light rail, buses,...