San Jose housing advocates are expressing concern over a recently-approved development that dropped its pledge toward more than 100 affordable homes, including a former vice mayor.
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a modified plan to redevelop the El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center with a 772-home apartment complex. Developer Sand Hill Property Company is paying the city $13.9 million to cut more than 100 affordable homes, in order to keep the project financially feasible — leaving 38 apartments available for people earning the area median income, or $184,300 for a family of four.
“There was so much effort, blood, sweat and tears that went into the plan, and then it went away,” former San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones told San José Spotlight. “If a developer makes a commitment, they should be held to that commitment. I understand market conditions change, but market conditions always change — the one constant is change.”
Jones served as District 1 councilmember from 2014 to 2022 and as vice mayor starting in 2019. He voted for the original El Paseo de Saratoga plan, which included 150 affordable apartments among the 994 total proposed. When the modified plan with only 38 affordable homes came back before the council on Tuesday, Jones told city leaders he was profoundly disappointed to see so many affordable homes cut.
Jones described the plan for 150 affordable homes as the “linchpin” of the El Paseo De Saratoga development — and as the reason for his initial support. Learning that a large portion of affordable housing would be cut was disheartening, he said.
The San Jose Planning Commission recommended city officials approve the downscaled plan on Nov. 20 after developers agreed to pay in-lieu fees to offset building more affordable homes. The nearly 11-acre development includes a 12-story building with 398 homes and 14,139 square feet of commercial space, along with a 10-story building with 374 homes and 17,447 square feet of commercial space. The developer will also construct a 7-story, 263-bed residential care facility on the site.
Erik Schoennauer, a land use consultant representing Sand Hill Property Company, told city officials Tuesday the company faces the highest inflation rate in the past 40 years, which factors into the decision to scale back affordable housing production. Sand Hill hopes to start construction on housing next year, he said.
“There’s a total of over 80,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. We anticipate a lot of it will be restaurants, outdoor dining space, but also the 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods,” Schoennauer said. “Another cornerstone of the plan is all of the publicly accessible outdoor space. We have 3.5 acres total, a 1.1 acre park … and then we have 2.4 acres combined of pedestrian paseos, urban plazas and outdoor dining along the main street.”
Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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