Building higher in downtown San Jose might come at a cost to developers—but it’ll provide a small boost to passengers bumped from airline flights due to tall cranes. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that will charge developers a fee if they use cranes taller than the city’s building height limit. Fees won’t be...
How San Jose renters can protect themselves after eviction ban ends
With just three days left, thousands of Santa Clara County renters are still waiting for eviction assistance, and those are the ones who have applied. As of Monday, 7,721 households in the county have filed for rent relief with the California Housing is Key program, which provides financial assistance to people who can’t pay rent...
San Jose school district in talks to sell shuttered site for housing
A shuttered elementary school in San Jose may become an affordable housing site, much to the chagrin of nearby residents. The Oak Grove School District is in early negotiations to sell or lease the Glider Elementary School site to The True Life Communities, a real estate firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. “True Life Communities has...
San Jose co-living housing project still dormant
San Jose was once set to host the largest co-living building in the world. But financial struggles and a torrent of lawsuits have all but killed that plan. Housing advocates now hope the space can be used for affordable housing. The lot at 199 Bassett Street in downtown San Jose remains empty after plans to...
UPDATE: San Jose commission defers decision on student housing high-rise
San Jose State students will have to wait even longer for a place to live near campus, following delayed approval of a high-rise apartment tower. A decision on a downtown student housing project has been deferred another month following an appeal from a neighboring property owner. The San Jose Planning Commission debated Wednesday over how...
Silicon Valley residential development booming, but not affordable
Rental rates are going up and affordable homes are scarce in Silicon Valley, a regional think tank says. Four out of 10 multi-family renter households spend more than 30% of their income on rent, according to a recent report from the Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies. This is considered a moderate to severe financial...
How do new state laws affect San Jose’s Opportunity Housing?
San Jose was considering a bold strategy to densify housing when a state law effectively abolished single-family zoning across California. Proponents claim the local vision is far from dead. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bills 9 and 10 into law last week that could dramatically increase housing density in residential neighborhoods by allowing the development of up...
State laws upend single-family zoning in Santa Clara County
With a pen stroke, Gov. Gavin Newsom has set the stage for potentially massive changes to how housing is built in Silicon Valley. Newsom signed into law Senate Bills 9 and 10 on Thursday. SB 9 allows for the development of up to four dwelling units on single-family lots throughout California, while SB 10 allows...
Santa Clara County approves affordable housing for ag workers
South Santa Clara County is home to mushroom farms and fields of garlic. Now the area will house the workers who tend them. On Thursday, Robert Van Tassle, operations manager of Countryside Mushrooms in Gilroy, picked up some personal items from the site of what was once Royal Oaks Mushrooms in Morgan Hill. He worked there for...
UPDATE: San Jose approves high-rise office towers
Woz Way is getting a makeover in the form of a pair of high-rise office towers—and the project is right at the city’s height limit. The Almaden Office Project, led by developer Boston Properties, will be built on a 3.57-acre parking lot on the corner of South Almaden Boulevard and Woz Way. The San Jose...