The first phase of Tamien Station is anticipated to complete construction in 2025.
The first phase of Tamien Station is anticipated to complete construction in 2025.

A 135-unit affordable housing development in downtown San Jose, California, has been awarded $64 million by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. The award is the final piece of a complex funding structure that puts the transit-oriented development on track to break ground in the second quarter of 2023.

Tamien Station is being developed by The Core Cos. in partnership with Republic Urban Properties and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

The first phase will feature 135 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for families and individuals earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, with 67 of those units allocated for rapid rehousing. In addition to supplying downtown San Jose with 135 new affordable homes, the first phase will also include a child care center and an expanded transit plaza.

“We’re proud to be able to build upon our San Jose roots and address the needs of the local community by adding hundreds of homes along a vital transit corridor,” said Vince Cantore, vice president of development at The Core Cos. “Tamien Station is truly a community-defining project, and we couldn’t be more grateful to our financial partners for helping the project advance to this critical point. We look forward to breaking ground in the new year.”

His firm is a vertically integrated real estate development and construction firm focused on creating new-home communities at all levels of affordability in transit-, job-, and recreation-friendly locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tamien Station received additional funding from Santa Clara County and the city of San Jose, which provided $25 million and $17.25 million, respectively. The project was also awarded $28.7 million through the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, a highly competitive initiative where grants are generated through the auction of pollution permits through the state’s “cap and trade” program.

"VTA is proud to partner with The Core Cos. and Republic Urban Properties to bring high-quality affordable housing to the Tamien Light Rail Station,” said Ron Golem, VTA's director of real estate and transit-oriented development. “This project advances VTA's goal for 40% of all housing built on its transit-oriented development sites to be affordable."

The 1.6-acre site is located adjacent to the Tamien Caltrain and VTA light-rail station building, and the second phase consists of market-rate apartments.