A planned 120-unit affordable housing development called Clara Gardens would rise at the site of a former motel at 3550 El Camino Real. The project would convert the old Bella Vista Inn property into permanent housing for low-income individuals and families, along with dozens of units set aside specifically for people who have experienced homelessness.
The property, referenced in a County of Santa Clara link,
would transition from interim shelter to a permanent, high-density complex. The site had
64 transitional units before
a 120-apartment permanent complex was planned.
From Interim Shelter to Permanent Homes
The county originally acquired and converted the Bella Vista Inn using a $22.1 million state Project Homekey grant awarded in 2022, operating the site as interim housing for more than two years before the full redevelopment began, the county's announcement notes. Project Homekey is a statewide California initiative created to quickly acquire motels and commercial sites for unhoused residents. That two-phase approach — interim conversion followed by ground-up redevelopment — mirrors a similar motel-to-housing project Hoodline covered in San Jose earlier this year, the Caravelle Inn conversion.
The project, discussed by The Silicon Valley Voice, is planned as affordable housing, but its financing and affordability duration are not specified.
Design Blends Old Motel Wings With New Construction
The project is described as combining existing motel wings with new construction. Resources for Community Development was identified as a co-applicant and developer in 2021. Its founding year and portfolio size are not specified.
Site selection for the original Bella Vista Inn conversion wasn't without friction. When the county selected the property for motel conversion in late 2021, state Homekey rules allowed county officials and developers to bypass local city planning approvals, leaving the Santa Clara City Council without authority to block the location, per The Silicon Valley Voice. That same month, the council had rejected a different proposed Homekey site on White Oak Lane following neighborhood pushback, illustrating the jurisdictional tension that has shadowed similar projects elsewhere in the county, including the legal fight Hoodline reported when Milpitas sued over a hotel conversion in 2020.
A Regional Gap Still Growing
Clara Gardens adds to broader efforts to expand affordable housing. By mid-2025, the number of residents housed through that effort was not specified. Yet the need keeps outpacing the supply: Santa Clara County's 2025 Point-in-Time count found 10,711 people experiencing homelessness countywide, and county data showed that nearly two new households became unhoused for every household connected to permanent housing in 2024, according to San José Spotlight.
That widening gap helps explain why county agencies continue converting commercial parcels along corridors like El Camino Real into permanent housing rather than relying solely on new construction. Similar efforts are playing out elsewhere in the county. For now, Clara Gardens is planned as a 120-apartment permanent phase following interim shelter.
