A proposal to build two affordable apartment buildings in Midtown San Jose is worrying residents who fear the development will exacerbate neighborhood traffic and eat up parking spaces in front of their homes.

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July 3, 2017 Affordable housing project in Sunnyvale breaks ground Developer Core Companies wants to demolish 12 structures and cut down 39 trees at 253 Race St., next to the old Race Street Seafood Kitchen, and build two apartment buildings on the 2.3-acre site.

One building would be six stories tall and 117,530 square feet, with as many as 116 apartment units for families. The other would be a five-story, 69,026-square-foot building with about 90 units for seniors only. The buildings would be “100 percent affordable,” according to developers. Tenants would come from the Santa Clara County Housing Authority’s housing wait list.

City planning staff and developers fielded questions about the proposal from neighbors at a June 29 community meeting in the Rose Garden neighborhood. Traffic congestion and parking shortages were uppermost in residents’ minds that evening.

Parking would be available in a two-level garage and at a lot. A traffic study is being conducted for an environmental impact report, which planners said will include proposed measures to minimize traffic.

Residents debated whether the apartments would blend in with the neighborhood’s character, where two- and three-story buildings are prevalent. Land consultant Erik Schoennauer said that the proposed five- and six-story building heights are “in the middle,” noting that the West San Carlos urban village planning area allows up to 12 stories.

Some people argued that the neighborhood already has too many new high-density buildings and there are also several housing developments in the works near West San Carlos Street and Meridian Avenue. In addition to asking whether other council districts are also taking on their fair share of such housing, neighbors urged the city to finish those structures before approving any more developments near them.

“It would be prudent to finish all of those projects before approving anything else because we have all these other big buildings coming in,” said one resident. “Once you open that Pandora’s box, you can’t close it.”

The Santa Clara County Housing Authority, which intends to manage the buildings, said the financing hasn’t been secured yet but could include a mix of low-income housing tax credits, Measure A funds and federal Moving to Work grants. Developers expect the proposal to go to the San Jose City Council for a vote by the end of the year.