SAN JOSE — A proposed San Jose hub for African American tradition has added a high-profile nonprofit housing companion as a imaginative and prescient emerges for a vibrant advanced close to the town’s downtown.
EAH Housing has agreed to develop the residential element of the Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart, in response to officers with the cultural hub.
Housing and open areas subsequent to Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart at 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, idea. (Moody Nolan, Y.A. studio)
Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart, open areas, museum, group areas at 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, massing idea. Interstate 880 can also be seen. (Moody Nolan, Y.A. studio)
“We’re very excited to have EAH Housing come on board,” stated Joanna Farris, president and chief government officer of the African American Cultural Heart.
The housing will consist of roughly 150 models. An estimated 135 of those could be reasonably priced and 12 to fifteen models could be for-sale condominiums, in response to Walter Wilson, mission director of the African American Cultural Heart.
Housing, open areas and gathering areas and Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart at 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, idea. (Moody Nolan, Y.A. studio)
Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart and adjoining housing at 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, idea. (Moody Nolan, Y.A. studio)
Entry space of Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart at 2001 The Alameda in San Jose, idea. (Moody Nolan, Y.A. studio)
“It’s hugely significant to have EAH as our housing partner,” Wilson stated. “EAH will build the housing, they will get the funding and then manage and direct the entire housing development.”
San Rafael-based EAH Housing is a nonprofit that has developed 107 properties with greater than 8,700 residential models, and manages 235 properties with greater than 13,000 models and over 25,000 residents.
“EAH has a great mission and history,” Wilson stated. “They know what they are doing. Getting the housing in place really helps us proceed with the cultural center.”
Plus, the residential element may also help play a job in efforts to ease the area’s housing woes.
“Lower- and moderate-income housing is what we need right now because housing is in very short supply in the Bay Area,” Farris stated.
The African American Cultural Heart has obtained large funding boosts on a number of fronts. In August 2023, state Sen. Dave Cortese introduced $3 million in funds for the mixed-use growth. In March 2024, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna introduced $4.1 million in federal funding.
The middle, together with financing from the 2 main authorities grants and different sources, has raised about $30 million. Extra is required.
“We need to raise another $50 million and that campaign is underway right now,” Wilson stated. “We have several other very sizeable grants lined up.”
Along with the housing, diversified actions associated to African American tradition will likely be a part of the mixed-use growth.
“The Center will serve as a hub for people celebrating and experiencing the ongoing contributions of African Americans, in education, music, theater, dance, science, athletics, business, and many other aspects of American life,” acknowledged a put up on the cultural middle’s web site.
Positioned at 2001 The Alameda close to the road’s interchange with Interstate 880, the Silicon Valley African American Cultural Heart is eyeing a groundbreaking for the mission someday in 2025. The middle might start operations in 2027. These timelines aren’t set in stone, nevertheless.
“The center will include meeting halls, banquet facilities, service organization offices, youth development facilities, a library, a museum gallery, social service providers, family, senior, and youth programs, child care, retail shops and a theatre/auditorium,” in response to the middle’s web site.
Though the development begin timeline could be fluid, officers with the African American Cultural Heart sense they’re getting near the fruits of a decades-long enterprise to ascertain such a facility in San Jose.
“We have been patient, working towards this, and waiting for our dream to come true,” Farris stated.
