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CUPERTINO — Twelve low-income seniors and six formerly homeless individuals have become the first to benefit in part from passage of the Measure A affordable housing bond that Santa Clara County voters approved three years ago.
They recently moved into The Veranda, a 19-unit affordable housing development on Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino. It’s the first completed project that received a subsidy from Measure A, the $950 million bond measure that aims to finance construction of 4,800 affordable homes by 2026.
At a ribbon-cutting event Monday, city and county officials celebrated the completion of the $12 million development, which opened to residents in June.
Twelve of the 350-square foot units — each has a bathroom, kitchen and balcony — are set aside for very low income seniors and six for formerly homeless individuals who will receive supportive services funded by the county. One unit will be for an on-site nonprofit housing employee.
The city of Cupertino, which approved the project in 2017, contributed $3.67 million in city funds and $1 million through the Housing Trust Silicon Valley. The county contributed $1 million of Measure A dollars and $500,000 in other government funds. Developers and their investment partners covered the rest of the costs.
Former Cupertino mayor Savita Vaidhyanathan, who was on the council that unanimously approved the project, said people were already asking then how they could apply to live at The Veranda.
“The day we did the groundbreaking, there were people waiting, asking when it would be complete,” Vaidhyanathan said at Monday’s event.
Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian expressed appreciation to residents who approved Measure A, which passed with 68 percent of the vote in 2016.
“I want to say thank you to each and every person who cast a vote for Measure A. That needed the entire community to step up and embrace,” Simitian said.
David Webb, 62, was homeless and lived in a shelter for more than a year before moving to The Veranda in June.
He worked in construction and masonry for most of his life before diabetes symptoms, including neuropathy and pain in his feet and hands, put him out of work. He relies on a walker or motorized scooter to get around.
“It got really bad, and I ended up losing everything,” Webb said.
He credited his social workers and shelter staff for helping him with everything from paying off parking tickets to getting his diabetes under control to prepare him for permanent housing.
“I’m not going to have good stuff happen to me — that happens to other people,” Webb said. “But they [my social workers] would come hunting me down to make sure I could get here.”
The roughly half-acre site on Stevens Creek Boulevard and Tantau Avenue was vacant for nearly 30 years before Charities Housing bought the site, said Kathy Robinson, the organization’s director of housing development.
Charities Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer and operator affiliated with Catholic Charities, owns and operates the development.
The recent opening of the Main Street shopping center and mixed-use development directly across the street, and nearby transit stops, made it an ideal place for an affordable and senior housing project, Robinson said.
“This should be the model if we ever hope to make a dent in the housing crisis,” Robinson said.
So far, the county has allocated $234 million of Measure A dollars toward housing developments in San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Cupertino, Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Three projects funded by the bond measure are slated to open at the end of this year: the 39-unit Crossings on Monterey project in Morgan Hill; 75-unit Gateway Senior Apartments in Gilroy and 84-unit Villas on the Park development in San Jose.
An additional $25 million in Measure A funds will go toward a program for first-time home buyers.
“We’re going to build many more and we’re going to do it faster and faster,” Supervisor Cindy Chavez said at the ribbon-cutting.
Webb, who has been living at The Veranda for over a month now, said his social workers help him with tasks he can’t do on his own, like getting to doctor appointments and keeping his apartment clean.
Living there also gives Webb some independence; he likes to ride his motorized scooter across the road to Main Street, where he can do some people-watching.
“I can’t believe I can afford to live here,” said Webb.
Contact Thy Vo at 408-200-1055 or tvo@bayareanewsgroup.com.
