Developer gets three parcels for 300-unit affordable tower in DTSJ

Core Companies gets financing from Santa Clara County for $18.2M worth of land in SoFA

The Core Companies' David and Chris Neale with proposed building at 470 S. Market Street (The Core Companies)
The Core Companies' David and Chris Neale with proposed building at 470 S. Market Street (The Core Companies)

A developer has paid $18.2 million for land to build a 300-unit luxury tower in Downtown San Jose, where each apartment would be affordable.

An affiliate of The Core Companies bought three parcels for its 20-story Gateway Tower planned for 470 S. Market St., a half-block from the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The San Jose-based firm also landed $18.2 million in financing from Santa Clara County to buy the land. The county will provide another $64 million in construction financing from a Measure A Affordable Housing Bond approved by voters in 2016..

“Gateway Tower will be the first of its kind in the South Bay: a 100 percent affordable tower providing critically needed homes targeting a broad spectrum of income levels,” Core Companies said in a release.

For the developer to break ground and complete construction, more funding will be needed, said Chris Neale, executive VP of the developer. The company, in addition to securing the needed permits, aims to obtain the rest of the financing through tax credits and state bonds.

Gateway Tower would be built in the city’s up-and-coming SoFA district, an arts and entertainment hub teeming with restaurants, bars, art galleries, cultural centers and theaters.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The glass tower, designed by San Francisco-based Kwan Henmi Architecture & Planning, will include one- and two-bedroom units, a gym, community room, garden and on-site resident services.

Apartments will be available to people who earn between 30 percent and 120 percent of the area’s median income, which is $151,300 for a family of four.

“The Core Companies is thrilled to deliver another affordable housing project in Santa Clara County,” Neale said. “The funding we received from our county partners was critical and will assist us in delivering hundreds of affordable units for vulnerable residents in the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County.”

The Core Companies, founded in 1989, has developed more than 400 single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums, as well as 2,300 apartment units in the South Bay region, according to its website. In the last decade, it has developed 17 properties at a cost of about $500 million.

The company is now moving ahead with Agrihood, an affordable development of 361 homes in Santa Clara, with a 1.5-acre urban farm. Of those, 181 homes will be offered at below-market rates, with 165 to be set aside for seniors.

[San Jose Mercury News] – Dana Bartholomew

Read more