DEVELOPER ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 437 HOMES, INCLUDING 88 AFFORDABLE UNITS

Grosvenor pledges to set two acres aside for public use as a park

Drew Penner, Reporter

Grosvenor Property Americas, the developer of the large mixed-use project called the North 40 located just south of San Jose and Campbell, says it will donate nearly two acres of land to Eden Housing, so it can build 88 units of affordable housing.

As part of its Phase II plan, Grosvenor proposes to dedicate two acres for use as a public park and is promising to build 437 total residential units.

That’s to include 20 additional homes for lower-income Los Gatans, beyond what Eden would like to construct. The drawings also feature about 15,000 square feet of retail.

The initial plan was submitted to the Town Monday, under California’s SB 330 process.

“We are really excited to be working with Eden Housing again,” said Steve Buster, senior vice president of development for Grosvenor. “When we meet with community members, we hear quite a bit how their kids or people they know cannot afford to live in Los Gatos, and I think it’s important to provide housing for a very diverse set of buyers and renters.”

Eden Housing says it will build units for people earning up to 60% of area median income.

These could be units categorized as for families of four making up to $101,100 a year, or a single person making as much as $70,800 annually, said Dixie Lira-Baus, director of real estate development for Eden Housing, adding some may be reserved for people who make much less.

“Just to get the land donation is so valuable to affordable housing developers, because in a town like Los Gatos there’s a scarcity of land everywhere,” Lira-Baus said.

Walnut Grove, Eden’s 55-plus community on Phase I of the North 40, just leased out its 50 apartments in a matter of weeks. A Grand Opening is scheduled for June.

Lira-Baus said Eden is hoping to have success again in applying for the “Section 42” IRS tax credit that was worth about $12 million last time.

“It’s so competitive,” she said. “Because of the location and the value of the land we were able to score… extremely high, so we won that ‘beauty contest’ at the state level.”

According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, 441,176 homes need to be created in the Bay Area by 2031 to account for a deficit brought on by municipalities like Los Gatos not building enough over the years—including 65,892 Low Income units, for people making 50-80% of Area Median Income.

Los Gatos must plan for 310 Low Income units in that time, meaning Phase II of the North 40 could help the community account for 22% of its total allocation in that category—all in one go—if the units all end up falling into the Low Income bucket.

Los Gatos must also pave the way for 537 Very Low Income homes.

The 88 units proposed for Phase II of the North 40 represent just over 10% of what’s needed in those two categories. The 437 total units proposed could cover 22% of the 1,993 homes Los Gatos has been told it must try to get built.

Los Gatos-based Harmonie Park Development and architects Perkins&Will, Dahlin Group and Heller Manus are also involved in Phase II, which envisions a mix of housing including townhomes and multi-family rentals that meets the 30 dwellingunits-per-acre requirement.

Grosvenor says it will now embark on an outreach campaign to gather community feedback.

Mayor Maria Ristow said Grosvenor’s plans for Phase II could go a long way to helping the Town meet its housing targets.

“Given the post-pandemic decline in demand for office space, I’m not surprised by the pivot to more housing,” she said. “Personally, I’m excited to see the plan for Eden to provide affordable family housing, and I know our residents support open space in any residential development.”

Ristow says the developer will still need to submit further paperwork before Phase 2 can go to the Planning Commission.