A long-planned affordable high-rise next to the Berryessa BART station just took a big step out of the paperwork stage and toward the construction site.
An affiliate of Affirmed Housing has transferred about $11.1 million to the Valley Transportation Authority for the parcel at 1565 Mabury Road, clearing the way for a 10-story, roughly 195-unit apartment building that is almost entirely income-restricted. City and planning files indicate construction crews could be on the ground relatively soon.
According to The Mercury News, county recorder documents reviewed by the paper detail the payment and related transfers that give the developer the right to use the VTA-owned land next to the Berryessa/North San Jose Transit Center.
What the project will look like
County application materials lay out a 10-story, 195-unit transit-oriented development that will include two on-site manager apartments and a mix of studios plus one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, with a portion reserved as permanent supportive housing. The site is planned to be directly alongside the Berryessa/North San Jose Transit Center on VTA-controlled property, a location the developer has been working toward for several years.
Santa Clara County filings and VTA project pages spell out the unit mix and confirm the project’s tight transit adjacency. Pre-construction outreach held ahead of an anticipated spring start is documented in notices from VTA.
How it’s being paid for
State bond and tax-credit filings peg the total development cost at about $162.6 million, with a financing stack that combines tax-exempt private placement bonds, state housing funds, local dollars, and tax-credit equity.
A staff report from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee identifies Citibank as the private purchaser and details approximately $82.6 million in tax-exempt bond allocation along with about $42.3 million in Citibank permanent financing, state HCD AHSC money, local Measure funds, and tax-credit equity. The City of San José has also approved a construction-to-permanent loan commitment to close the final funding gap, with terms outlined in council files from the City of San José.
Who the homes are for
Application materials show the project is aimed squarely at lower-income renters, targeting households earning roughly 30% to 60% of area median income, with project-based vouchers attached to dozens of apartments. In practical terms, that means tenants will be well below the regional median.
The 2025 income table for Santa Clara County places the county AMI at $195,200 for a four-person household and $136,650 for a single person, benchmarks that help determine rent limits and eligibility. Those thresholds are detailed in state application documents and in the income charts published by Santa Clara County, which are used to calculate what qualifies as affordable in this project.
What’s next
VTA and Affirmed Housing held community outreach sessions in spring 2026 and listed a May 2026 groundbreaking window in project notices. Environmental reviews and federal HUD paperwork remain available for public comment as the development inches toward shovels in the ground.
Local filings outline a multiyear schedule that anticipates construction starting in the coming months, with initial move-ins projected sometime in the 2027 to 2028 window, subject to permits and final financing closings. Project pages from VTA and the environmental documentation posted by the City of San José carry the full schedule, public materials, and meeting details for neighbors who want to track every step.
