News | City of San Jose

SAN JOSÉ, Calif. — Yesterday, the San Jose City Council accepted $42.2 million in state funds from the California Housing Accelerator program and $12.6 million from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program ) to fund the 79-unit Roosevelt Park Apartments at North 21st Street and Santa Clara Street.

The development includes 40 apartments of supportive housing for previously homeless individuals and families, 10 apartments for young people leaving foster care, 10 apartments for people with developmental disabilities and families and 19 apartments for three bedrooms for large families.

“Thanks to vital state funding, Roosevelt Apartments is moving forward – but we have more to do for at-risk individuals and families,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “Increasing state investments in affordable housing and improving transportation through this year’s budget process will allow us to continue delivering transformative projects like this for our community.”

Funding for the projects comes from two state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) grant programs. Through the state’s cap and trade program, 20% of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund proceeds are earmarked for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. CSSA funds land use, housing, transportation and land preservation projects to support infill and compact development that reduces greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. The development of infill projects is a key tool for cities to deploy against climate change which prevents sprawling urban growth which then increases automobile dependency.

In the Bay Area, the shortage of new infill housing has resulted in an increase in “super commuters” or residents commuting to employment areas in the Bay Area from available housing in dormitory communities in remote towns and villages of the central valley. Roosevelt Park Apartments allows at-risk residents to live and work in San Jose by being close to a range of sustainable transportation options with local and fast VTA bus routes along Santa Clara Street half a block away. block away and the future 28th Street/Little Portugal BART station half a mile east.

“I am delighted that after three years of hard work by our staff, we can finally move forward to provide more affordable housing options for our homeless individuals and families, young people in foster care and people with developmental disabilities,” said Council Member Raul Peralez, District 3. “I hope to see more investments like this from our state partners as we seek to address housing needs in our city.”

Round 4 of the AHSC program awarded $4,014,238 in transportation funding that will fund protected bike lanes connecting the neighborhood to the new BART station, safer mid-block crosswalks, and two electric buses for the VTA route 77 through the project area. CSSA funding also includes $8.6 million for the construction of affordable housing. In total, investments in sustainable transportation will contribute to the reduction of 62.6 million vehicle-miles traveled per year, or 25,059 metric tons of greenhouse gas savings.

In addition to AHSC, the project received $42,170,000 through HCD’s Accelerator program. Funded in part with dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Accelerator Program is a $1.75 billion forgivable loan program that fills funding gaps for seed-ready projects that have been unable to access tax credits for low-income housing.

“We are thrilled to help house 79 deserving families with funding from the Governor’s Accelerator, County Measure A funds, and the continued support and leadership of Mayor Sam Liccardo, Councilman Raul Peralez, City of San Jose staff and so many other partners,” said Geoffrey Morgan, General Manager, First Community Housing.

The CA Housing Accelerator was funded by the state budget approved last year. Additional funding through this year’s state budget to increase funding for the Accelerator program could help two other San Jose affordable housing developments in the pipeline, Tamien Station and Dupont Family, move forward with approximately $138 million in grants to begin construction of an additional 276 units. total number of affordable housing units.

In line with the goals of the Roosevelt Park Urban Village Plan, this development is an 8-storey mixed-use building with two garage levels, six residential unit levels and one commercial office level. The entire project contains a range of highly affordable rental apartments, of which 19 apartments will be available for residents earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income (“AMI”), 20 apartments reserved for those earning up to 50% AMI, and 40 apartments for very low income people or up to 30% AMI. The Santa Clara County median income is $117,950 for an individual and $168,500 for a family of four – a family of four earning 50% AMI earns $84,250 and a person earning 30% AMI earns approximately $35,000 per year. The range of unit sizes and target populations makes Roosevelt Park Apartments uniquely structured to serve a diverse community of individuals and families working towards independence and stability.