Housing Authority Buys Two Affordable Complexes in San Jose

A South Bay housing authority has snagged more than 100 senior affordable apartments in East San Jose from a federal housing agency that seized two complexes through foreclosures. The combined price was $6.8 million.

The Santa Clara County Housing Authority bought a 43-unit building at 132 North Jackson Avenue and a 59-unit building at 1710 Alum Rock Avenue, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The seller was the U.S. Housing & Urban Development Department, which foreclosed on real estate loans it made to both owners.

The county authority bought the 43-unit Jardines Paloma Blanca complex this month for $2.65 million, or $61,600 per unit.

The property had been previously owned by an affiliate of San Jose-based Macsa Housing, which owned it since 1994. At the time of the foreclosure, the unpaid debt for the original mortgage amount, late fees, interest and penalties was $10.5 million.

Its property value was $5.5 million in June, according to the County Assessor’s Office.

The county authority bought the 59-unit Girasol Housing complex this month for $4.15 million, or $70,300 per unit.

The previous owner and its debt to HUD were not disclosed. The residents of both complexes will remain in their homes.

“It’s all about the preservation of affordable housing,” Fidel Contreras, a spokesman for the local housing authority, told the Mercury News.

— Dana Bartholomew