Eleventh Street Commons approved; Mayor proposes policy to
mandate affordable housing
Gilroy – A developer intimately involved in downtown renewal has received approval for Eleventh Street Commons, a 94-unit mix of business space and homes that he calls a “cornerstone” of revitalization efforts. But the project has a few city leaders grumbling about the lack of protections against skyrocketing home prices.
As part of the project, developer James Suner will blend 24 live-work lofts, 70 townhomes and 14 commercial offices on the vacant lot next to Platinum Theaters, just south of the intersection of Monterey and 10th streets. The lofts and office space will front on Monterey Street while the townhomes will lie at the rear of the seven-acre parcel.
The first townhouses will go on sale in two years for prices ranging from $400,000 to $450,000, according to Suner, who said the lofts would sell for less.
“It’s about the size and configuration of the project,” he said. “A smaller house on a smaller lot sells for a smaller price. It’s affordability by design.”
Despite unanimously approving the project this week, not all councilmen trust the “affordability by design” assurances.
On Monday, Councilman Peter Arellano asked Suner to sign a contract guaranteeing that 15 percent of the units would stay within the price range quoted by the developer.
“I’ll guarantee the prices if you can guarantee my costs won’t go up,” Suner replied.
The gap between final sale prices and those predicted by developers also concerned Mayor Al Pinheiro, though he stopped short of calling on Suner to sign a contract.
Instead, Pinheiro said in an interview that the time has come to start requiring developers to offer a percentage of their homes at prices within reach of low-income residents, a practice commonly known as inclusionary zoning.
The Neighborhood District Policy approved last year establishes a broad mandate that 15 percent of new homes must be priced at affordable rates, but the policy does not address the city’s downtown core. That area is governed by the Downtown Specific Plan, a set of development guidelines also approved last year.
Suner, who played a lead role in crafting the downtown plan that governs the land slated for Eleventh Street Commons, said he does not oppose inclusionary zoning in concept. But Suner said that he and other task force members excluded such zoning from the Downtown Specific Plan because it would cluster low-income housing in a single area.
In a city where “low-income” means $100,000 salaries and “affordable” translates to $600,000 homes, some officials see little merit in the clustering argument.
“I hate the word affordable because people think it means someone who’s destitute and can’t pay for anything,” Pinheiro said. “Unless we start looking at some numbers that are required, we’re not going to see developers come in and put affordable housing on the table.”
Pinheiro said he will propose an ordinance that mandates affordable units on projects exceeding a certain size. Council members will discuss the policy this spring. If approved, the policy could affect a proposal to convert the Indian Motorcycle plant at 10th and Monterey streets into a 200-unit mix of condominiums and townhomes.
