This morning we got to see our friends from PATH and attend the groundbreaking celebration of Villas at Fourth Street in San Jose – a project that will bring 93 affordable homes for chronically homeless seniors age 55 and above.
Two key collaborations brought us to today: Google, which first invested in our TECH Fund two years ago, provided $7.8 million with a Measure A grant from the County of Santa Clara in 2019, and several months ago the Apple Affordable Housing Fund lent $3.145 million in a construction-to-perm loan.
Apple has long been focused on helping to combat the housing crisis across California and working with partners like PATH Ventures and Housing Trust Silicon Valley to support at risk communities and provide new affordable units. As part of our $2.5 billion affordable housing initiative, we’re proud to support projects like Villas at Fourth Street that help provide critical housing resources for our community.”
-Kristina Raspe, Vice President for Global Real Estate and Facilities of Apple, from today’s press release
We we’re alone in seeing the development break ground: Measure A champion Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, leader of Destination Home Jennifer Loving, Santa Clara County Director of Supportive Housing Consuelo Hernandez, Santa Clara County Housing Authority Executive Director Preston Prince, and Government Affairs and Public Policy Manager Javier Gonzalez of Google spoke at the event – as did PATH CEO Joel John Roberts and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Most of us hadn’t seen one another in person since the grand opening of Villas on The Park, another PATH project in San Jose that had its ribbon cutting barely a week before the shelter-in-place order was issued. Last summer we talked with Arthur and Sandy, who live at Villas on the Park and really put faces and names to the housing crisis, and it is gratifying to know that in 2022 we’ll be able to meet some of our new neighbors who will be calling Villas at Fourth Street home.
Congratulations to everyone stepping forward and getting involved with this crucial work!
The link to the PATH press release is here and ICYMI: renderings of the site are here and here