Real Estate

Real Estate

State law may overshadow San Jose affordable housing policy

A controversial policy that could make affordable housing more attainable is coming back to the San Jose City Council—but it might be a moot point if a similar policy is passed at the state level. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, is a policy that would give qualified nonprofits first rights to make an offer...

Chinese developer starts selling San Jose projects

A China-based real estate firm whose co-founder was recently arrested in connection with a bribery scheme is selling off a premier residential development site in San Jose, while the fate of two others is still unclear. The former Greyhound bus station site at 70 S. Almaden Ave. in downtown San Jose, owned by Z&L Properties,...

State housing law fizzles in San Jose

One year after a state law aimed at increasing housing supply went into effect, the destruction of single-family neighborhood character that many of the bill’s opponents raised alarms about has not yet come to pass. Senate Bill 9 effectively ended exclusionary single-family zoning statewide, allowing homeowners in some long unchanged neighborhoods to subdivide their lots...

San Jose renters rally for more rights

A coalition of local groups is calling on the San Jose City Council to prioritize policies preventing displacement of renters amid the ongoing housing crisis. The coalition, which includes Sacred Heart Community Service, SOMOS Mayfair, the South Bay Community Land Trust and others, want city policymakers to bolster renter’s rights, preserve affordable rental housing and stop criminalizing...

These projects could reshape Silicon Valley next year

As San Jose and Silicon Valley further emerge from the effects of the pandemic, development on major projects continues to move forward across the region. Here are some of the notable developments and policies to keep an eye on in 2023: Google’s Downtown West project The largest development in San Jose’s history, Google’s 80-acre Downtown West...

Hundreds of San Jose families face eviction

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,...

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...

San Jose developer broke state law by overcharging renters

A prominent housing developer violated state law by gouging its renters living near San Jose’s Japantown. Now the company is paying it back. Swenson, one of the largest housing developers in San Jose, admitted in a letter sent to tenants this month it illegally raised the rent above the state limit. The letter came more than a...

San Jose faces decades of City Hall debt

It’s been roughly 20 years since San Jose leaders voted to build a new City Hall, rotunda, plaza and parking garage at Fourth and Santa Clara streets in the heart of the city’s downtown. It’ll be nearly another two decades before the full tab is paid. Even before the idea became a reality, city leaders...