SAN JOSE — When an aging grayish apartment complex on South Winchester Boulevard is demolished next year to make way for a shiny new development that triples the number of units, Tyrone Lockett will be left in the dust.

Lockett is among hundreds of residents now living inside the old 216-unit Reserve apartment complex who will lose their apartments when it is torn down. While the developer is offering to help them find housing in the company’s other apartment complexes, the rent there may be more than many can afford.

“I know they want more units, but what about the people you’re kicking out?” Lockett said. “It’s not fair for people paying their rent.”

Lockett, a 49-year-old chef at a local high school, was among more than 50 residents packed inside a community meeting Wednesday. Leaning against a wall near the back, the Louisiana native listened as land use consultant Erik Schoennauer laid out a plan that would soon replace his home of 12 years.

The development, which is headed to a planning director’s hearing for final permits, represents San Jose’s new growth and its effort to shed a suburban past and embrace an urban future. It includes a cluster of 4- or 5-story white and tan buildings along Winchester Boulevard, surrounded by a row of trees, to house 640 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The units would sit on top of 8,000 square feet of retail with high ceilings and lots of glass. A decorative public plaza would accent outdoor dining options and a two-level basement garage would hold 960 cars.

But as the popular thoroughfare near Santana Row grows, Lockett and others say they’re being kicked out without a relocation plan or benefits. The emotions reached an all-time high Wednesday when residents got into a shouting match with city officials at the meeting.

“You’re giving zero to the residents” who’ve made the landlords money for 20 or 30 years, shouted Jill Borders, who doesn’t live at the Reserve, but calls herself a housing advocate.

“I understand your concern… but we’re here tonight to talk about the project,” responded Lesley Xavier, a senior city planner. “Does anybody want to comment on the project itself or do you just want to talk about displacement?”

Part of the problem is San Jose doesn’t require developers to provide displaced residents any relocation benefits — such as helping them find another apartment to paying a security deposit or moving costs. Councilman Chappie Jones, who represents the district, thinks it should.

“We’re going to see more and more of these developments that will displace residents,” said Jones, who plans to introduce a proposal in the coming weeks.

Schoennauer, who spoke for the developer, Greystar Real Estate Partners, said the group will give residents 120 days notice to vacate and will refer them to another Greystar property that’s similar in age and style. He said the company controls 8,000 units in San Jose and nearly 20,000 around the Bay Area.

“On any given day, we have vacancies in our properties, even though it’s a tight market,” Schoennauer told the crowd. “We want to do that because you are our tenants.”

Randy Ackerman, Greystar’s senior development director, declined comment but said the displacement concerns aren’t new. The developer pointed to its Park Kiely Apartments as the most comparable option for the Reserve’s displaced residents.

But that could mean a big spike in rent. A 386-square-foot studio at the Reserve rents for $1,605 to $1,745 a month, according to its website. At Park Kiely, a studio nearly 100 square feet smaller goes for $2,082 to $2,112 — about $367 to $477 more a month. A similar two-bedroom apartment at the Reserve ranges from $2,490 to $2,645 compared to Park Kiely’s $2,672 to $2,792.

For Lockett, who pays $2,258 a month for his two-bedroom, coughing up an extra few hundred dollars a month is hard — especially after his wife suffered a stroke four year ago.

“Our income was cut in half because she stopped working,” he said, adding that there’s no certainty he’ll qualify for the new apartments or that enough units are available. “Where is everyone going to go?”

The Reserve Apartments’ 216 units were also under the city’s rent control law, which caps annual increases at 8 percent. But there won’t be any restrictions on rent hikes at the new market-rate apartments.

To boost the city’s affordable housing, city leaders adopted a one-time fee of $17 per square foot on new rental developments. But Greystar’s project, if it obtains final permits before the rules apply on June 30, won’t have to pay the affordable housing fee. Greystar has applied for the exemption, city officials said.

But Greystar has agreed to pay $1.8 million for traffic improvements and city officials Wednesday asked residents to vote on their most preferred projects — everything from rebuilding a busy intersection to adding streetlights, upgrading crosswalks and bikeways.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at 408-920-5705. Follow her at Twitter.com/ramonagiwargis.