The Fairways apartment complex in East San Jose has a new set of nonprofit owners who say they are in it for the long haul, with plans to rehabilitate the 86-unit property and keep it income-restricted. The buyer team says the overhaul will tackle aging systems, including roof and foundation repairs, energy-efficiency upgrades and a spruce-up of the courtyards, landscaping and public park on the site. The deal shifts the complex into a preservation model that uses a mix of state-backed loans and city financing to pay for renovations while keeping the homes affordable for lower-income households.
Affirmed Housing’s project page describes the Fairways at San Antonio Court as an 86-unit family community next to U.S. 101, with on-site management, a community room and a tot lot. Affirmed Housing confirms the property’s unit count and location.
The buying group, led by Affirmed Housing with an affiliate of Compass Affordable Housing, paid about $18.6 million for the complex and lined up roughly a $19.9 million loan from the California Building Finance Authority, while city staff recommended about $14.3 million in new financing to support the rehabilitation, according to The Mercury News. County-recorded filings cited in that reporting show the sale was recorded in mid-December. City staff framed the purchase as a preservation move to keep the apartments restricted for extremely low-, very low- and low-income households.
What 25%–50% AMI Means
The coverage and a city report say many of the Fairways units will be limited to households earning about 25%–50% of area median income, which sharply narrows the eligible pool to lower-income families. In Santa Clara County, the 2025 AMI figures translate to roughly $136,650 for a one-person household and $195,200 for a household of four. That works out to about $34,160–$68,300 for one person and about $48,800–$97,600 for a family of four when calculated at 25%–50% of AMI. These thresholds come from local HUD/HCD income tables and are used to set the property’s income restrictions, per data from Westmont Advisors.
Why the Purchase Matters
Preserving existing affordable rentals is becoming a go-to move as construction costs and market-rate prices make new affordable housing harder to build in the South Bay. Large preservation and market-to-affordable deals in the region show why public subsidies and creative financing are often needed to lock in long-term affordability, according to Affordable Housing Finance. For cities like San José, transactions like the Fairways purchase are one piece of a broader effort to slow displacement while they wrestle with the larger problem of housing supply.
City staff say the planned rehabilitation will include new landscaping, a refreshed public park, improved stormwater drainage and modernized courtyards, and that construction was expected to begin before the end of 2025, according to The Mercury News. For residents, the upgrades are expected to mean safer roofs and more energy-efficient homes. For the city, the deal keeps a long-standing affordable complex in the fold instead of watching it drift toward the market-rate column.
