Santa Clara VTA celebrates opening of San Jose affordable apartments
Courtesy of The Core Companies
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The city of San Jose on Friday celebrated the opening of its first transit-oriented housing development in over 20 years.
The Tamien Station Apartments, developed by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), is a 135-unit development adjacent to the Tamien Light Rail and Caltrain station on Lick Avenue. The apartments are accessible to families earning less than 60% of the area median income.
"VTA is proud to see beautiful, affordable housing go up right next to public transit, which is the lifeline for so many in our community," Carolyn Gonot, the general manager and CEO of VTA said in a press release. "We are excited to have many more such projects in the pipeline to open next to our transit stations in the near future.
Big picture view:
The development features one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, which have all been filled. Half of those units have been allocated for rapid rehousing to move individuals and families out of homelessness.
The complex includes an on-site daycare, a rooftop playground, food pantry, fitness room, and community gathering spaces.
What's next:
The 1.6-acre site was previously a VTA-owned parking lot, but is now leased to Urban Co Tamien LLC, a partnership between Core and Republic Urban Properties. The development is the first phase of a mixed-income neighborhood development that will create 555 units on the property.
"VTA has bold plans to enable over 2,500 new homes near transit — and that critical work starts right here at Tamien Station," San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a press release. "We need to leverage our public land for maximum public good. I look forward to seeing our transit agency break ground on more projects like this so that people can live, work and play near transit services that reduce congestion and improve our environment for everyone."