San Jose Begins Building Tiny Home Community Near Guadalupe River Park Encampment
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Officials in San Jose are beginning work on a tiny home neighborhood providing supportive housing for the homeless, amid efforts to clear out the city's largest encampment located nearby.
On Wednesday, groundbreaking took place for San Jose's newest neighborhood to be built on what was once a portion of the San Jose Police Department's employee parking lot.
Seventy-six tiny modular homes, or what the mayor calls "quick build apartments" will be ready to house people now living on the streets in about six months.
"We know we need to build more housing. We certainly need more permanent supportive housing. But we also need housing that can be built more quickly and cost-effectively," Mayor Sam Liccardo said.
The city is providing the land, but most of the remaining costs, about $6 million, is coming from private donors.
"It will be flexible, to provide for the critical needs of our community, most immediately for the hundreds of our neighbors who live in Guadalupe River Park," Liccardo said.
The housing announcement comes just as San Jose is clearing homeless camps in the park and adjacent open space on Spring Street. One section has already been cleared.
The rest will be vacated by June to make way for a just-announced new dog park, a frisbee golf course and other park amenities.
"All they're going to do is push people out to have more recreational activities and push people somewhere else," said Shaunn Cartwright of the Unhoused Response Group.
The city hopes that for at least some will be able to move into the new community they're building.
And the new parks could also provide paying jobs for residents in a new park maintenance and steward program.
"It's creating a good job opportunity in an area where we know we are going to need good stewardship. We know individuals will need a job so it's a great way to marry those two needs," said City Councilmember Raul Peralez.
One camp resident who lives in an RV said he's tired of being forced to move every day and would gladly move into one of the new homes.
"I'd like to see something like that because that's something. Right now, we have nothing," Abbas Moosavi told KPIX 5.