Santa Clara County Makes Strides in Affordable Housing
In a booming California housing market, Santa Clara County residents and students are faced with difficult choices for affordable housing
Santa Clara County recently approved a $31.5 million fund dedicated to three housing projects. This fund will add 242 apartments and 14 townhomes in San José and Milpitas. These projects come at a critical time, as California is dealing with an increasing unhoused population and lacks sufficient housing for low-income residents.
San José’s Pavilion Inn aims to provide housing options for youth between the ages of 18 and 25 who are transitioning out of foster care. Twenty-two out of the 43 units in this project will consist of permanent housing for youth with special needs. The Mil on Main in Milpitas will consist of more than 200 units for low-income residents, the unhoused, working families and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The fund’s approval also green-lit the development of the Jackson Avenue Townhomes in San José, providing 14 townhouse units for residents with a wide range of income levels. The project is expected to be completed and fully operational in April 2024.
Despite progress at the government level to provide more living options for low-income residents, some Santa Clara students feel these strides have not benefited off-campus residents. There are a variety of non-affiliated apartment complexes and houses from which students can choose, but most of these options are expensive and housing near campus is competitive.
The Domicilio Apartments are one popular option for off-campus housing. Jack Casani, a student at the Santa Clara University School of Law, is a current resident of this complex and believes it is too expensive considering the location and facilities.
Additionally, many students live in Lafayette Apartments because the complex is located near campus. However, Delaney Harris, a senior at Santa Clara, is unsatisfied with the facilities given the cost to live there.
“The place is not that secure and lacks a certain amount of facilities such as enough washers and dryers,” said Harris. “Because the apartments are communal and tightly-packed, I don’t think it’s worth what I pay.”
The lack of affordable housing near Santa Clara also presents difficulties for graduate students who seek reasonable and comfortable living arrangements away from undergraduates.
“As a graduate student, it was hard to find housing away from undergraduates and not 20 minutes away that was affordable,” Casani said.
According to the university, off-campus housing refers to any non-affiliated housing within five miles of campus. The steady increase in demand for off-campus housing among Santa Clara juniors, seniors and graduates may further raise costs and limit available living options for students. Because of this, the university recommends that “students seeking to live within 5 miles of campus generally should begin their search for housing 9-14 months in advance.”
Off-Campus Living provides local apartment listings and rental listings for students interested in non-affiliated off-campus housing. In addition, students can locate a variety of housing resources and locate potential housing using resources provided by OCL.