Nearly 80 new apartments with private bedrooms and bathrooms will be built in San Jose for unhoused residents.
Groundbreaking on the complex, which will be located at West Mission Street and Guadalupe Parkway, happened Wednesday. Officials said it should be built in about six months, costing about 20% of typical apartment construction.
City officials said the project is one step of many that are needed.
"It is not a secret to anyone that we suffer from a shameful scourge of homelessness in this valley," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said.
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When the units open, tenants will get to live in them rent free, and they will also be given jobs maintaining nearby Guadalupe Park.
"It helps us get people off the street," Liccardo said. "And then because this construction is very high quality, this building will be around 25, 30 years or more. It can be used for permanent housing as we stabilize the population."
It's all part of the goal of eventually getting as many people as possible into permanent housing.
"Investment in prevention, investment in interim housing to get people indoors quickly, and then really investing in permanent housing," said Joanne Karchmer, chief impact officer at All Home.
The groundbreaking comes in the same week as Santa Clara County announced $75.5 million to go towards six new affordable housing projects. A total of 758 low-income homes will be built in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Mountain View.
"This new program has been created for the people that will live here, and in that way we ensure that their needs are being put first," Destination Home board member Claudine Sipili said.
