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City Beat
New senior residences may soon get city OK
The Almaden Road proposal includes 66 affordable units
By Kate Carter
Another new senior housing development in Willow Glen could get its zoning approval from city council as early as Dec. 19.
The project is planned for a 1.3-acre site on Almaden Road, south of Willow Glen Way, said City Planner Anastazia Aziz. It would provide up to 66 affordable senior housing units and 50 parking spaces. The residential building would be four stories of one-bedroom units, and would likely house mostly senior women, she said.
The development is one of three senior housing projects planned for the vicinity of Almaden Road and Willow Glen Way. All three are being designed by architects with the Steinberg Group and will be complementary in style, Aziz said.
The project south of Willow Glen Way would replace Scotland Yard, an equipment rental shop now on the site.
At a Nov. 16 neighborhood meeting at Canoas Elementary School, nearby residents were generally supportive of the project once they learned the back of the development adjacent to their single family residences would be extensively landscaped, Aziz said. They were also told the backyards of those homes were very deep and would provide a large buffer between them and the new building.
Aziz said the neighbors were glad the noisy and unattractive equipment rental business was being replaced with affordable homes for seniors, especially because they recognized the need for affordable housing in San Jose.
"For the most part, people are excited about that site redevelopment," she said. "They know that this type of project will provide affordable housing so seniors can stay in the area."
Aziz also said the city is interested in the redevelopment of that area into residential buildings.
"The city's General Plan designation for that area is for high density residential," she said. "The city is encouraging redevelopment of that area for residential use, especially because it's so close to the [Tamien] light rail station."
The residential building will be on Almaden Road, but the entrance will face the parking lot on the other side of the building.
The lot is currently owned be Frank and Betty McBain of Washington state, Aziz said. The other owner, Robert Fink of San Jose, is recently deceased.
The project's developer is Community Housing Partners, a partnership between Pacific National Development and Lennar Affordable Communities. The developer is in negotiations to buy the property, Aziz said, but wants to receive the zoning ordinance for the proposed project before conducting the final transaction.
The developer submitted its zoning application in September, and the project is scheduled to be reviewed by the planning commission on Dec. 7, she said. With the recommendation from planning, city council would have two readings of the project before approving the zoning ordinance, she added.
That could happen as early as Dec. 19, if the project stays on schedule, Aziz said.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
