Solaire Apartments provides 130 affordable homes—half of which are permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for people who were homeless and high users of safety-net services—in San Jose, California.
PROJECT DETAILS
DEVELOPER: Eden Housing
ARCHITECT: Architects FORA
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: L&D Construction Co.
MAJOR FUNDERS: Santa Clara County; Santa Clara County Housing Authority; California Department of Housing and Community Development; California Tax Credit Allocation Committee; California Community Reinvestment Corp.; National Equity Fund; Silicon Valley Bank; First Citizens Bank
In developing the community, Eden Housing worked with experts to bring trauma-informed design to the building. This included the careful selection of colors on each floor, increased visibility in stairwells, and enhanced accessibility to promote a safe and healing environment. There’s also nearly 16,000 square feet of outdoor space for residents to relax and interact.
“We worked to make sure this building is holistically designed to serve a permanent supportive housing population. At the same time, it feels welcoming and safe for anybody to live at this property,” says Susie Criscimagna, vice president of real estate development at Eden Housing.
By integrating PSH and affordable units throughout Solaire, it fosters a diverse, inclusive community. The affordable units provide an important option for residents earning no more than 50% and 60% of the area median income to live in an evolving downtown neighborhood.
Alberto Gamazo
Resident services are provided by Eden Housing and HomeFirst, a homeless services organization.
A GreenPoint Rated Gold building, Solaire features an all-electric design, with a solar photovoltaic system, drought-tolerant landscaping, and adaptable units for people with disabilities.
In addition to pulling together multiple funding sources for the $81.8 million development, developers utilized the state’s AB 2162 streamlining process to expedite entitlements and plan review with the city to accelerate permitting.
