The affordable residential complex in downtown San Jose is funded by Google

SAN JOSE – A large residential complex being developed in downtown San Jose near Google’s proposed transit village has received major funding from a unit of the tech titan.

McEvoy Apartments, a complex being developed by First Community Housing in downtown San Jose, has received a loan from Google Endeavor LLC, a subsidiary of Google.

The development is expected to consist of 365 units and is located at 280 McEvoy Street off West San Carlos Street, according to First Community Housing.

The McEvoy Apartments will serve low-income households earning up to 60% of the median income in the area. This equates to an annual income of $ 61,000 for an individual or $ 87,000 for a family of four.

Google Endeavor donated $ 29 million to McEvoy Street LP, a subsidiary of First Community Housing.

The funds will be used to refinance another mortgage and to provide advance development funds for McEvoy Apartments.

“Google really put its money where it is,” said Geoffrey Morgan, president of First Community Housing. “You get through for affordable housing.”

In 2018, First Community Housing bought the 1.1-acre lot on which the apartments will be built and paid $ 13.5 million for the property, which has long been a family-owned metal business. The family who run S&S Welding sold the property to the developer.

The apartments are said to be a few blocks away from a thoroughfare-oriented neighborhood called Downtown West, which Google is developing next to and near the Diridon train station and the SAP center.

“McEvoy Apartments is maximizing the number of much-needed affordable units by placing density exactly where we want it, near the downtown transit center in our area and within walking distance of many of our hardest-working residents and families,” said Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, in February before the city council approved the project.

The development is expected to include two 12-story residential towers that will be constructed in two phases, one building each.

One tower will contain 141 family apartments in one, two and three bedroom units. The other tower will have 224 studios for working singles and couples.

“It’s the essence of transit development,” said Morgan.

The project will use a novel building system called solid wood construction which uses heavy wood in the frame of the building.

Lendlease, an Australia-based development and construction company, will be the builder of the McEvoy Apartments. SERA Architects will design the project.

“The focus of the transition-oriented development is sustainability, lively placement, the most modern building techniques and the health and well-being of the people who will live there,” said Veronica Hinkley Reck, Managing Director at SERA Architects. “The project is helping to meet the state’s critical housing needs for low-income residents.”

Coincidentally, in 2019, Google announced that it had partnered with Lendlease to develop a $ 15 billion development project that will dramatically transform parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and downtown San Jose with new residential units should.

In addition to the two residential towers, the McEvoy Apartments will also offer roof gardens, an inner courtyard and gathering areas.

The towers will also include a “maker space” where people can “learn, teach and build,” said Morgan.

The location of the McEvoy Apartments in the immediate vicinity of the Diridon railway junction should support the development considerably, according to First Community Housing.

“The project will provide much-needed, affordable homes for more than 360 households alongside what promises to be the great main train station in the west,” said Morgan.