211-281 River Oaks Parkway
In Design
211 River Oaks Pkwy, San Jose, CA 95134
Project Overview
• Project Type: Market-rate & affordable
• Owner/Developer: Valley Oak Partners
• Presented to our members: September 2024
Catalyze SV evaluates project sustainability, equity, and vibrancy. Learn about our project review process.
211-281 River Oaks Parkway Project Scorecard
Valley Oak Partners’ proposal for 211-281 River Oaks Parkway comprises three distinct residential areas totaling 737 units across a 9.67-acre site in north San Jose. The first area is made up of 100 market-rate 3-story townhomes ranging from two to three bedrooms. The second area consists of a single affordable apartment building for large families totaling 132 units. The last area is a 7-story market-rate apartment complex totaling 505 units. Additionally, the proposal will provide residents with 909 vehicle parking spaces and 13,800 square feet of amenity space. Additionally, the proposal resides within the Transit Employment Residential Overlay and will provide residents with 909 vehicle parking spaces and 345 long-term bicycle stalls. Notable features for residents include 13,800 square feet of amenity space and a park-like paseo running between the affordable and market-rate apartment complexes.
211-281 River Oaks Parkway scored an overall 3.16 out of 5 from our Project Advocacy Committee members.
Community Score: 3/5
Valley Oak Partners has conducted some community meetings, including engagement with the River Oaks Neighborhood Association (RONA), but our members shared concerns regarding responsiveness to feedback. Responsive community engagement is a vital component of any successful project. The developer was often unresponsive in our requests to contact them, including our invitation to present to our members, which they ultimately declined. Some members expressed concerns that the developer isn't adequately incorporating community feedback; most importantly, the desire for neighborhood retail. However, our members also recognize the project still has room to adapt. We encourage the developer to keep up their community engagement process, especially since the project is so close to a beloved neighborhood park. This project's design has the potential to enhance a space shared by many nearby residents.
Vibrancy Score: 3/5
Our members are staunch advocates of creating enticing, lively spaces where people want to spend time and build community. Individual developments can’t always achieve this goal, but we appreciate it when developers incorporate elements that contribute to an area’s overall vibrancy. In particular, our members like that this project includes a paseo and green space, which act as a visual extension of the adjacent park landscape. Still, our members believe this project can do a lot more to enhance the area's vibrancy. Members suggest the project incorporate more interactive elements open to the broader neighborhood. These elements range in complexity and size and include features like seating areas, a bocce ball court, or a pocket play area for children. Additionally, adding a unique artistic flare to any planned or potential elements would further define the project’sidentity in the public consciousness. Similar to what some expressed at RONA’s community meeting, many of our members want to see a commercial component geared toward the local neighborhood, such as a cafe facing the park. However, our members do understand that finding and keeping commercial tenants is not always easy. If an innovative approach to commercial space is needed at this location, we suggest allocating space for mobile shops to set up, like cafe trailers or food trucks.
Transportation Score: 3/5
On foot, 211-281 River Oaks Parkway is 15 minutes—or roughly 0.6 miles—away from the fast and frequent VTA Blue and Green light rail lines. By bicycle, the time it takes to reach the Blue and Green lines falls just under 4 minutes. This is why our members believe the project must allocate many more stalls for long-term bicycle parking. The currently proposed 345 bicycle stalls are insufficient to accommodate 637 apartments adequately. Our members suggest increasing the bike parking to apartment ratio to at least 3:4, creating an additional 133 bicycle stalls. Some of these spaces must also be large enough to allow storage of increasingly diverse forms of bikes, like e-bikes and cargo bikes, as well as outdoor bike parking that is highly visible. To further encourage transit use, we recommend Valley Oak Partners reach out to VTA regarding its SmartPass program. VTA's SmartPass is an annual transit pass that is obtainable at a deeply discounted cost for organizations like colleges, employers, and, importantly, residential developments. Members especially encourage the developer to investigate providing transit passes for residents of the affordable apartment building, as it is a practice we commonly see from affordable housing developers.
Intensity/Zoning Score: 3/5
The project's current density of 76 units per acre reflects the need for more transit-oriented development, but there is still room for significant expansion. The project sits at the lower end of the density permitted by the Transit Employment Residential Overlay at 76.2 dwelling units per acre. The Overlay allows residential development between 75 to 250 dwelling units per acre. As proposed, the project comes out just ahead of the minimum requirement. Members urge the developer to draw on the site's full potential and increase the overall density. Particularly, members suggest increasing the overall density by reconsidering the distribution of townhomes, which some members view as an inefficient use of space in this transit-friendly location. Density is essential in this housing shortage – the only way we fix it is by ensuring the supply of housing meets the demand. Developers like Valley Oak Partners need to use the construction methods at their disposal to maximize the number of homes beyond the modest density proposed here.
Sustainability Score: 3/5
The developer's commitment to rooftop solar is commendable. Our members believe solar panels should be a standard feature for residential projects and are glad to see Valley Oak Partners take the initiative. We’d like to see energy savings passed onto residents, particularly in the affordable building. The developer has also committed to preserving the existing redwood trees; this, too, is commendable. However, some of our members recognize that as nice as it is to preserve the redwoods, which we understand is a desire of many of the project's neighbors, San Jose is not the most amenable climate for the continued existence of redwoods. Dying or decaying redwood trees could pose a potential risk to inhabitants. Our members would like to know what LEED rating the developer is pursuing for an all-encompassing measure of sustainability features. San Jose requires a minimum of LEED Silver, and our members want to encourage the developer to seek a rating above that, preferably LEED Platinum. Projects achieving the highest level of green certification can easily receive our highest score.
Affordability Score: 4/5
Our members are happy to see the developer commit to providing more affordable units than is required by the City's inclusionary zoning ordinance. The project will allocate 17% of units for below-market-rate housing, which will total about 132 units. Members are even happier to know that these units are geared toward households earning in the low or very-low area median income ranges. The units are also intended for families, roughly half, or about 70 units, and are larger, two- to three-bedroom units. Some members are worried the amenities won’t be shared between the market-rate and below-market-rate units. Members want to see more integration between the two apartment complexes and want to see all residents have equal access to the clubhouse, gym, and other amenities.
Legacy Score: N/A
Members of Catalyze SV did not find our Legacy category applicable to this site.