Contact: Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, kalin.kipling-mojaddedi@lci.ca.gov
SAN JOSE (1/23/26) – California state representatives joined local officials and partners today to celebrate the grand opening of Tamien Station Apartments, a new affordable housing community just steps from convenient public transit and everyday needs.
The apartment complex, built on land owned by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), adds 135 much-needed affordable housing units south of downtown San Jose and is conveniently located right next to the Tamien Caltrain and light rail station. The development is the first transit-oriented development housing to open in more than 20 years under the portfolio of the VTA.
Tamien Station Apartments demonstrates exactly what the Strategic Growth Council is working to achieve in California—thriving neighborhoods with walkable, affordable communities near public transit. With easy transportation options and on-site amenities—including a day care, food pantry and community gathering spaces—this new complex promises to enhance quality of life across the board for the neighborhood.
Our tremendous partnership with the Strategic Growth Council and the power of cap-and-invest strengthen our ability to meet California’s most critical housing needs. This project embodies the innovative spirit with which Governor Newsom has led focused action on affordable housing, leading to the state’s largest reduction in homelessness in 15 years.
The development was partially funded by a $28.7 million grant from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, which is administered by SGC and implemented by HCD. AHSC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-invest, formerly known as cap-and-trade, dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Another $3 million in funding came from HCD’s Infill Infrastructure Grant program, which funds needed infrastructure improvements that make development of critically needed affordable housing possible.
About the Development
Developed by The Core Companies, Tamien has studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments reserved for households making 60% or less of the median income for Santa Clara County. That translates to a four-person household earning less than $117,000 a year.
Half of the units in the development are allocated for rapid rehousing to help those most in need access safe housing and avoid homelessness.
Access to transportation, downtown, jobs, parks and shopping—along with on-site amenities such as a day care center, a rooftop playground, a fitness room, laundry, a homework room and a food pantry—make the complex a holistic, accessible community.
“The idea behind transit-oriented development is to build housing near public transportation hubs, so residents can drop off their kids at the on-site day care, jump on a train or light rail to go to work, or get to shops, doctor’s visits, and businesses without a car,” said Curtis. “That means a more comfortable, healthy and affordable lifestyle for families, while reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions for the larger community. Taking the train beats the stress of stop-and-go freeway traffic any day!”
The 1.6-acre site was previously a VTA-owned parking lot, and the development is part of VTA’s effort to build transit-oriented communities—mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods connected by transit, supporting walkability, cycling, and long-term sustainability. It is now leased to Urban Co Tamien LLC, a partnership between Core and Republic Urban Properties, generating revenue to support transit services while providing affordable housing. This is the first phase of a mixed-income neighborhood development that will create a total of 555 units on the site.
Impact of California Climate Investments
The SGC recently surpassed a milestone of $5 billion in investments statewide – much of it funded by California Climate Investments.
The SGC investments:
- Fund affordable housing and transportation projects close to jobs, schools, and other daily destinations.
- Build climate resilience through protecting our productive farmlands and encouraging compact transit-oriented communities.
- Support community-led climate solutions that achieve major environmental, health, and economic benefits in California’s most disadvantaged communities.
California Climate Investments funding is part of the state’s cap-and-invest program, which requires polluters to buy allowances for the greenhouse gases they emit. The funding puts billions of dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—especially in disadvantaged communities.
California Climate Investments includes 117 programs administered by 27 state agencies, with funding directly supporting the governor’s work to build a California for All, meeting the housing needs throughout the state while also protecting California’s climate.
California is using California Climate Investment funds to protect health, stability, and opportunity across the state.
A Housing Approach that works
From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness – which were decades in the making – has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems – and California is a leader in producing positive results.
About the California Strategic Growth Council
The SGC is part of the governor’s Cabinet, a team of state leaders who work closely with the governor to advance sustainability, equity, and quality of life across California—connecting housing, transportation, climate, and community investment.
About the California Department of Housing and Community Development
HCD helps to provide stable, safe homes affordable to veterans, seniors, young families, farmworkers, tribes, people with disabilities, and individuals and families experiencing homelessness so that every California resident can live, work, and play in healthy communities of opportunity. Since 2019, the Newsom Administration has invested over $15.4 billion through HCD’s many programs to fund development of more than 66,000 affordable multifamily rental homes across the state, including those at Tamien Station.