San Jose on Thursday unveiled a new, first-of-its-kind interim housing project, marking a critical step in the ongoing effort to address homelessness.
Via del Oro features 135 interim housing units built in less than a year on private land. It was developed by DignityMoves at a fraction of the typical cost.
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WATCH HERE"As we celebrate today's milestone, let's remember that this is not the final destination," HomeFirst CEO René Ramirez said. "Moving into the shelter does not end a person's homelessness. It is a step forward. It is a break from chaos. It is a chance to regroup."
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan hopes the city's taxpayers see the benefits for them, too.
"By opening this site, we were able to close the persistent encampment at Great Oaks, an unsafe and unmanaged corner of San Jose that had been negatively impacting that neighborhood for years," he said.
Via del Oro is another notch for the city's ambitious plan of opening 1,000 interim housing units by the end of the year. If it proves successful, the two-acre lot has plenty of more land left to build on.
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