365-unit plan near station in the works

A 365-unit affordable housing development west of downtown San Jose — just blocks from Diridon Station and the transit village planned by Google — has been given approval.

The San Jose City Council on Feb. 11 unanimously approved plans submitted by First Community Housing to demolish two industrial buildings and replace them with a fully affordable housing development on a 1.13-acre site at 699 W. San Carlos St., between Mcevoy and Dupont streets.

The project, which is expected to break ground in about a year, consists of two 13-story towers with rooftop gardens and a courtyard in the middle. It will be the largest affordable housing project created by the San Josebased nonprofit affordable housing developer.

“It’s transit-oriented development for the right place at the right time,” Geoffrey Morgan, president and CEO of First Community Housing, said during the council meeting.

The development will feature 92 parking spots for vehicles, along with 16 spots for motorcycles and 401 spaces for bicycles. First Community Housing has promised to give transit passes to all the new residents.

The units, which will include a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedrooms, will be available to residents earning up to 80% of the area’s median income — or up to about $73,000 for a single person.

Alex Shoor, executive director of the policy nonprofit Catalyze SV and a nearby resident to the project, called the project a “tremendous asset to our neighborhood.”

Pointing to the added service jobs that proposed projects like Google’s transit village will bring to downtown San Jose, Shoor said that affordable housing developments like this one were “absolutely needed.”

But not everyone in the audience was as open to the development.

Jonathan Martinez, president of the Georgetown Homeowners Association, said he feared that the project would bring crime and blight to the neighborhood and that the residents would not use the transportation and amenities that are offered downtown.

“This is a great location for market-rate housing,” Martinez said. “I understand that we need low-income housing, but it’s better suited for Story Road or Senter Road — somewhere closer to where they can shop.”

Slightly northeast of the project, Google has submitted plans to build a mixed-use community of office buildings, homes, shops, restaurants and open spaces where the tech giant plans to employ up to 25,000 people.

First Community Housing is not the only affordable housing developer with a project planned nearby.

Hayward-based affordable housing developer Eden Housing in November 2019 submitted plans to build 130 apartments on several parcels — with addresses at 425 and 429 Auzerais Ave. and 383 Delmas Ave. near the interchange of Interstate 280 and State Route 87.