VTA unveils affordable housing development near one of San Jose's largest transit hubs

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Dozens of affordable housing units are set to open up near a South Bay light rail station and will become the first transit-oriented development on Valley Transportation Authority-owned property in 25 years.

Both VTA and the city of San Jose hope it can get more people into safe, affordable housing.

"It's VTA's first (Transit Oriented Development) project that's going to be completed in over 25 years, and it's 135 affordable units as well as a daycare center," said Josselyn Hazen, VTA's manager of Transit Oriented Development.

The Tamien Station Development offers one, two and three bedroom units for families earning between 30 to 60% of the area median income. More than 60 of the units are set aside for families transitioning out of homelessness.

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"VTA recognizes, not only the immense pressure there is on housing and the need to help support the housing of our citizens in the county, but also our program can bring in new riders for transferring to development, as well as help support the agency's fiscal sustainability through ground lease avenues," Hazen said.

VTA had a transit oriented development program that went dormant after finishing two projects in the 1990s. Funding from Measure A helped jump start it.

"We reactivated the program in 2016, and that's when we started working on this project. And so, this project has really been in process since 2016," Hazen said.

Now that the program is back and running, VTA said the Tamien Station is just a beginning.

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"We currently have over seven active projects that total over 1,600 units, of which over 72% of them are affordable," Hazen said, adding that plans to expand the program even further are already in the works with 28 sites envisioned. "Through build out, we expect over 11 million square feet of build out at our station areas, including over 7,000 housing units."

Phase one of the Tamien Station Development is set to welcome residents in August. Right now, there is a waitlist.

Eventually the full site will include more than 475 housing units and new parking for commuters.