Silicon Valley billionaire John Sobrato is leasing a two-acre plot of private land for $1 a year to help address the Bay Area’s housing crisis
A Silicon Valley billionaire is leasing a five-acre plot of private land to a city for just $1 a year to help address the Bay Area’s housing crisis.
American real estate developer John Sobrato, 84, offered the San Jose City Council the opportunity to build a temporary solar-powered residential complex with 150 beds on Via Del Oro in the south of the metropolis.
Sobrato said he approached the authority to offer his two-hectare plot, which has been unused for 30 years, after seeing more and more rough sleepers.
Although the Edenvale plot is in an industrial area, it is close to a bus route and the motorway, and the project has been hailed as an ‘attempt to end homelessness’ in the city.
Sobrato agreed to a five-year lease for just $1 a year, and San Jose council members voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the development.
American real estate developer John Sobrato, 84, has offered the San Jose City Council the opportunity to build a temporary solar-powered residential complex with 150 beds on Via Del Oro in the south of the metropolis.
The transitional housing complex will provide 150 units for people sleeping on the streets in the Bay Area
Although the plot is located in an industrial area, it is close to a bus line and the highway
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said the complex of cabins is “designed to be relocatable when the city’s lease expires” so the “fast-build community” can be relaunched on another parcel.
He thanked Sobrato Philanthropies, a real estate and philanthropy network, for the generosity.
‘This contribution is especially exciting because it makes it possible to test a new approach that could help take privately owned, but currently unused, private land off the sidelines and support efforts to end homelessness in San Jose Mahan said on X.
“I am so proud of our city for pushing the boundaries on homelessness and continually striving to improve our approach so we can help more people who are suffering and improve the quality of life for everyone.”
Mahan posted a photo of what the bedroom cabins will look like, along with a sketch of the general layout.
City officials said the development will also include shared kitchens and laundry areas, outdoor seating, a parking lot and additional buildings to provide services such as job training and substance abuse support.
Sobrato is worth $10.3 billion each BloombergAlthough he is leasing his land at a bargain, the project is expected to cost the city about $18 million, according to NBC.
San Jose has about a million residents and is the third most expensive city in the United States, behind only Manhattan and Honolulu, according to the latest United States report. Council for Community and Economic Research.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said the complex of cabins is “designed to be movable when the city’s lease expires” so the “fast-build community” can be relaunched on another parcel
A view of a homeless encampment on a street in West Oakland, California, last month as local officials took steps to clear the buildings
The Northern California city has become the center of Silicon Valley’s tech culture, which drives up prices, meaning thousands of people can’t afford housing.
According to the latest data, more than 6,300 people are sleeping in the city this year homeless count figures.
The number of people without homes is skyrocketing in the US, and California is by far the hardest hit state.
It houses about a third of the country’s homeless population, and Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland and other cities in the Golden State have among the largest numbers of unsheltered people in the country.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says 582,462 people were without a permanent home on the one evening last January when researchers conducted their most recent snapshot survey.
About 60 percent of those in need were in shelters, staying with friends or relatives, or in other temporary accommodations. The rest were ‘unsheltered’ and slept in cars, on the streets or in abandoned buildings.
Sights like this, a homeless man’s belongings strewn on the street next to a bank in Los Angeles, California, have become a common sight at ATMs across the country
To capture the scale of the problem, DailyMail.com analyzed the department’s data, released late last year, to show which US states and cities have the highest homelessness rates.
They show that about a third of the entire U.S. homeless population – 171,521 people – is in California. That includes more than half of the country’s unsheltered homeless population, 115,491 people.
California also added 9,973 homeless people between 2020 and last year’s survey.
The Golden State has the highest rate of homelessness in the country, with 44 unhoused people for every 10,000 residents. It is closely followed by Vermont, Oregon and Hawaii.