The Virginian Apartments

The Virginia Avenue Apartments, located at 1718, 1724, and 1730 Virginia Avenue in San Jose’s historic Mayfair neighborhood, are home to 18 multigenerational families who have built a close-knit community over the past two decades. For the past four years, South Bay Community Land Trust (SBCLT), with advisory and technical support from MidPen Housing Corporation, has acquired the property and is actively working to rehabilitate it.

After securing tenant participation, SBCLT began a prolonged process of negotiations with the owner and meetings with lenders to obtain the funding to make the purchase and rehabilitation possible. This involved first advocating for the City Council to allocate preservation funds via Measure E and participating in a pilot program through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Bay Area Housing Finance Agency (BAHFA). SBCLT tenants and partner community-based organizations got the ball rolling with months of organizing and advocacy to secure preservation funds through the City of San Jose Measure E and BAHFA.

South Bay CLT successfully acquired The Virginian in January 2025 and subsequently closed on financing with the City of San Jose in July 2026. During this process, SBCLT organized over 35 monthly tenant meetings and almost 200 one-on-one meetings with tenant families to support their leadership development and advocacy in housing preservation.

This work aims to preserve affordable housing for these long-term tenants, who face displacement pressures from rising rents and the scarcity of affordable housing options. By acquiring communities like the Virginian, SBCLT permanently removes land from the speculative market and builds tenant power through education and pathways to community ownership.

The property began temporary resident move-outs for rehabilitation in July 2026.