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The city of San Jose has begun construction on a new version of temporary housing for homeless residents.
This project, which will have 150 beds, will be located on land leased to the city by the Sobrato Organization for one dollar a year.
Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Arjun Batra and DignityMoves will break ground on the Via Del Oro Interim Housing Community, which leverages underutilized private land for interim housing for the first time in San Jose.
The community will sit on two acres of land leased from the city for $1 a year thanks to the vision and generosity of John and Sue Sobrato, philanthropists who have invested heavily in Silicon Valley.
Through the Sobrato Family Foundation, they point out that more than 20 percent of Silicon Valley's population lives in poverty and, although there is great wealth in the Valley, the disparity between rich and poor is dramatic and growing.
Once completed, the site will add 150 beds to the city's temporary housing supply.
According to a recent memo from Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers Batra, Jimenez, Foley and Cohen, no camping areas will be established within a two-block radius of the new Via del Oro interim housing community and at two specific sites in the area that have long-standing encampments associated with safety concerns.
Plans for Via del Oro call for 75 two-bed mobile “cabins” powered by solar energy and designed to last 10 to 15 years. There will also be shared kitchens and laundry facilities, outdoor seating and a parking lot for 46 cars.
“We are talking about small cabins that can be locked and cost around $75,000 (each),” Sobrato told San Jose Spotlight in 2023. “(The project) will include additional buildings on the site to provide the services that residents need, whether it’s job training or (help with) substance abuse, those services will be available.”
According to the local outlet, the city is also expecting $3 million in rebates from San Francisco-based homeless services provider and developer Dignity Moves, Gensler Architects and Swinerton Construction to complete the project.
But even with generous five-year lease and construction discounts, the project is expected to cost the city $18 million to build and then relocate. That’s about $75,000 per bed, which deputy city homeless director Omar Passons said is cheaper than the Guadalupe site and the Mabury Bridge Housing Community, as well as the expected $162,000 per bed cost of widening Rue Ferrari.
With information from San Jose Spotlight.
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