A portion of Google’s TECH Fund Investment, announced just one month ago, has already been put to work toward a one-acre parcel of land in Hyde Park in San Jose.
The $7.8 million loan to PATH Ventures to acquire 1020 N. 4th Street comes from Housing Trust’s Supportive Housing Fund – a joint fund between Housing Trust and Santa Clara County to support projects with goals aligned with Measure A – and Housing Trust’s TECH Fund, an affordable housing investment vehicle created to give employers and philanthropic organizations a chance to be part of the housing solution and give developers of affordable homes the ability to compete for sites on the open market.
Currently the site of a vacant grocery store, the current proposal is to build 93 homes for formerly homeless seniors and one on-site manager unit. Half of the apartments will be reserved for residents earning up to 30% of the area median income with the rest reserved for those earning 50%.
“This is an important supportive housing project that will enhance the quality of life of all community members by moving our neighbors off the streets, sidewalks, and parks and into homes with trained professionals who can provide case management and other services,” said PATH and PATH Ventures CEO Joel Roberts. “We’re committed to working with the community to create an effective housing housing solution. With this project, we move one more step forward in advancing our mission of ending homelessness for individuals, families and communities.”
The location at the corner of 4th and Younger is an 11-minute walk to the VTA’s Civic Center light rail stop, about five minutes from two different Bay Wheels bike share stations, and a block from the closest bus stop. It also isn’t far from another project we helped fund, Villas on the Park in Japantown, which is being developed through a joint venture between PATH and Affirmed Housing. Housing Trust announced Google’s $50 million investment in TECH Fund at the end of July. Like other investments that have preceded it, the funds are being deployed quickly. To date, TECH Fund has helped start-up over 2,300 homes across 21 developments in Silicon Valley.