Renters would be evicted; solar homes would replace duplexes on
Gurries Drive
Gilroy – A half block of run-down housing in north Gilroy would have to be razed before Christopher Cote, a small developer hoping to spark a citywide trend of eco-friendly development, can proceed with his latest plans for a solar-powered paradise of stately homes.
The 21-unit project slated for 1.1 acres on the northwest side of Gurries Drive would lie just a block from St. Mary’s School and First Street, in a neighborhood that has seen a string of residential burglaries and auto thefts in recent years.
“There’s going to be beautiful homes out there and it’s all going to be gated,” said Cote, who plans to sell most of the three-story houses for $600,000 each. A third of the homes would be priced at affordable rates of about $400,000 each.
Cote said he is finalizing the purchase of the 1.1 acres and that he plans to submit formal plans to the city within a month. Before any development can proceed, Cote will have to evict the families renting space in 14 duplexes on the block. Most of the rundown homes were built in the 1940s, though resident Raymond Martinez has not been around that long.
“Man, I’ve lived here all my life,” said Martinez, 18, who shares the rental apartment at 353 Gurries Dr. with his grandparents. But Martinez, who predicted he would move in with his girlfriend in Hollister, wasn’t opposed to the project.
“I think it would be better for the neighborhood,” he said. “We do need some new houses.”
His neighbor Crystal Freitas, who pays $1,050 a month in rent, already planned to move after less than a year in her apartment.
“They could do whatever they want with this place,” she said, though she doubted anyone would want to buy a home in the neighborhood.
But Cote believes homebuyers are craving environmentally friendly housing. Each of the four homes in his first solar-powered project fetched more than $700,000. Those homes, constructed behind gates at the end of Wayland Avenue, stand two stories high and include columns and porches reminiscent of homes in the old South.
The new homes will borrow the style and energy-saving techniques of the Wayland Avenue homes. In addition to solar panels, each home will use recycled building materials, energy-efficient lighting and attic fans, which reduce the need for air conditioning.
“If I learned anything on the last solar project, I learned that if you build it, they will come,” Cote said. “We can talk till we’re blue in the face about eco-friendly, but developers didn’t latch onto the concept of solar power until somebody built it.”
He points as evidence to a 12-unit development slated for Kern Avenue, the second solar-powered project city leaders have approved. To sweeten the deal on his latest project, Cote is offering the city $500,000 to start a fund that would help subsidize development costs for bio-technology and nano-technology companies.
Mayor Al Pinheiro said it is too early to comment on Cote’s latest proposal, but he predicted it would help revitalize one of the city’s older neighborhoods. The mayor did not expect the families facing eviction to have trouble finding new homes.
“Obviously the rental market in today’s world is very available,” he said. “There is no shortage of rentals in Gilroy right now. But in a free society where people own land … the property owner needs to have a choice to do with his property what he needs to do. Just like I don’t pretend to protect businesses from competition, I don’t pretend to guarantee that renters’ homes won’t be sold.”
Cote said he plans to work with tenants to help them relocate.
“Nothing’s going to happen right away, first of all,” he said. “And secondly, we’re going to do everything we can to find people housing in Gilroy.”
Cote, who declined to specify the sale price of the land, is purchasing the property from Peter T. and Ngoc Tran and the Tran Trust, according to land records. The Trans could not be reached for comment.
The developer hopes to present his project to city council by fall. Assuming council approval, he said he could start construction by winter.
