One San Jose school district is keeping its options open as it considers which path to take in addressing the need for workforce housing.
San Jose Unified School District submitted an application to the city late last month to move forward with its workforce housing project at 760 Hillsdale Ave. At the same time, the district is also considering whether it should go in a different direction and purchase 337 condos in downtown at Silvery Towers, located at 188 W. St. James St.
Funding for both projects would come from Measure R, a nearly $1.2 billion bond measure approved by district voters in 2024 to renovate schools and facilities, as well as provide affordable housing for the workforce. More than $282 million is expected to be set aside from Measure R for workforce housing.
“We want to be thoughtful and strategic about how we invest those funds,” Seth Reddy, chief business officer of SJUSD, told San José Spotlight.
Reddy said the district took the next step in the approval process for workforce housing by filing an application with San Jose to initiate a preliminary review for construction at the Hillsdale site. The review is estimated to take 26 to 41 months before construction can begin. The district filed under Thượng viện Bill 330, which revises land use and zoning laws to streamline new housing in urban areas.
Ông nói thu hút và giữ chân hiệu suất cao giáo viên và nhân viên is a priority for SJUSD.
“Workforce housing, which can significantly reduce the cost of living for our teachers and staff, is a lasting resource for our community,” Reddy said.
Educator Yolanda Guerra, a member of a teachers union, said she supported the district’s original intention of using union contractors to build workforce housing. She said the district’s consideration in buying condos at Silvery Towers is “inherently wrong.” That project faced accusations that some workers on the project were trafficked and forced to work without pay. One of the development’s employees died after a fall at the project in 2018, prompting a state probe.
“It’s disrespectful. It’s a slap in the face, and it just goes against everything that a union stands for,” Guerra told San José Spotlight. “What teachers want is what we asked for years before … union constructed housing and housing for families.”
Guerra said it would have been more helpful for the district to offer teachers housing subsidies for a home of their choice rather than having to live in one owned by their employer in a specific location.
“It sounds lovely, a school district wanting to support teacher housing, but there’s no understanding of what that looks like,” she said. “In the end, will it happen? I would be very surprised. They’re not going to be able to build what they want to on the Hillsdale lot. It’s too ambitious.”
A survey of more than 1,200 SJUSD employees showed strong demand for housing at the scale being considered, Reddy said, adding that purchasing an already-built residential property has the potential to significantly lower housing costs and save more Measure R dollars for school upgrades.
San Jose’s largest public school district plans to modernize all of its 49 campuses and facilities over the next few decades with an estimated cost of $4 billion. About $1 billion of upgrades will come from Measure R funds.
At an Oct. 20 SJUSD committee meeting, school officials said they are continuing to investigate both options. Michael Melillo, a former co-chair of the Measure R campaign, said with a price tag of $4 billion for the combination of workforce housing and repairing and updating district schools and facilities, it’s daunting to move forward with either choice.
But in choosing between between the Hillsdale property or condos at Silvery Towers, he said he wants the district to build housing on its own land rather than investing in a building it doesn’t own.
“The Hillsdale option is a better choice than the condo purchase,” he told San José Spotlight. “The only pro for the condo option is the speed at which people would be able to get into the units.”
Melillo is also concerned the condos won’t provide what employees want. He said 75% of employees surveyed wanted two-, three- or four-bedroom apartments and the district revised the Hillsdale project to that design.
“My biggest fear is that we buy that tower and we can’t fill it because we don’t have enough employees that want to live there, because they have families that need a three-bedroom unit and we just bought a bunch of one-bedrooms, or they have more cars and don’t want to live downtown,” he said.
Vui lòng liên hệ với Lorraine Gabbert qua địa chỉ [email protected].
Bình luận
Bạn phải đăng nhập để bình luận.