SAN JOSE — A big housing project could sprout next to a San Jose train line by replacing a sports bar and liquor shop with more than 100 affordable homes.
The project would consist of 158 residences, according to documents on file with San Jose city officials. The potential development site is at 1330 North First Street in San Jose.
The homes would consist of “100 % affordable units” if the project is approved or built, the proposal states.
The development site includes The Doghouse sports lounge and Hyde Park Liquors, according to Google Maps.
The proposed project is a reminder of the shifting nature of Bay Area real estate at a time when numerous office buildings and retail sites have lost some of their luster in a tricky post-coronavirus economy.
Residential projects have become more popular for developers to pursue. However, it can sometimes be difficult for builders to land construction financing, particularly in the current climate of sharply rising interest rates and sky-high inflation.
RMG Housing, a California real estate firm that specializes in affordable housing, filed the project proposal.
“Our evolution has seen our mission expand from supportive housing for unhoused to providing community workers with affordable housing options,” RMG Housing states on its website.
Los Angeles-based RMG Housing has yet to purchase the San Jose site slated for development. The property is now owned by a family trust headed up by Paul Vu.
The project site is tucked away between a big hotel and a small hotel, and is near the interchange of Interstate 880 and North First Street.
The proposal that RMG Housing has filed is very preliminary and is being floated as a way to gauge how city politicians, municipal planners and neighborhood residents might react to the project concept.
The vast majority of RMG Housing’s projects are located in Los Angeles. In the Bay Area, aside from the San Jose project, RMG has proposed affordable housing developments in Concord and Oakland.
“Our future communities will include housing for hard-working public employees like teachers, police and first responders,” the company says on its website.
It wasn’t immediately clear what segment of the San Jose community is eyeing with its proposal for the North First Street site.
RMG Housing has more than 1,000 units under development. The company intends to dramatically expand on that, the real estate firm says in an online post.
“We are committed to developing over 10,000 units of affordable and workforce housing over the next decade,” the company states on its website.