Arya Apartments (226 Balbach)
Arya Apartments provides 87 affordable apartments as a gateway to downtown San Jose’s SoFA (South of First Area) Arts and Entertainment District. The project’s design, amenities, and outreach strategies were developed to serve San Jose’s working artists.
Owner
Satellite Affordable Housing (SAHA)
Location
San Jose, CA
Size
95,000 SF
Stats
Targeting GreenPoint Gold
Image Credit
LMSA for renderings
The building’s amenities include a variety of common areas, artist workspaces, multipurpose rooms, and landscaped courtyard. The project will also include a large community flex space located on the ground floor that can serve as a classroom, a gallery, and/or performance space for local artists and nonprofits and be accessible to residents and surrounding neighborhoods.
The colorful exterior design expresses the project’s location as a transition between downtown high-rises and an adjacent historic single-family neighborhood. A robust community engagement process resulted in unanimous Planning Commission approval without opposition. The project is targeting a minimum GreenPoint rating of Gold.
This project used the State Density Bonus Program to increase the number of units, and used SB35 to fast-track entitlements. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2023.
“We are seeing an acceleration of affordable housing developments with new and innovative approaches. It’s heartening to see the traction we are making, despite the pandemic, in building not just affordable housing, but great communities.”
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo