SAN JOSE >> A developer is eyeing a builder’s remedy to fast-track 780 affordable homes in north San Jose’s Alviso district as city planners say they are working with the developer to advance the project.

The proposed development would be built on a 3.2-acre site at 7 Topgolf Drive, next to the Topgolf entertainment and sports venue near North First Street, according to plans on file with San Jose city officials.

The project’s developer, Cloud Apartments, hopes to determine whether the project might land city approval through a fast-track builder’s remedy or a streamlined proposal.

When cities or counties in California are out of compliance with state rules because they haven’t met their housing approval obligations, the builder’s remedy approach gives developers a way to overcome local barriers that can throttle affordable housing proposals through a legal tool that allows them to bypass local zoning if 20% of the proposed units are considered affordable.

Cloud Apartments is attempting to use provisions of two different state laws in hopes of a successful navigation of San Jose’s approval process. The developer uses modular construction techniques to save money and speed up production of affordable housing.

“It’s important for the city to encourage more affordable housing near major job clusters like north San Jose,” said Bob Staedler, principal executive with land use consultancy Silicon Valley Synergy.

City planners are engaging with Curtis Wong, CEO and founder of Cloud Apartments, on the project.

“We are working closely with the developer on this,” Marika Krause, a public information manager with the San Jose Planning Department, said in an interview with this news organization.

In recent months, city planners issued a letter to Cloud Apartments that sketched out some obstacles to the project that could have hobbled development efforts. California’s builder’s remedy rules, however, are evolving, and the changes have left the city-issued letter outdated.

“We are working sincerely with the applicant to allow their proposed density,” Krause said. “Builder’s remedy is a complicated law that’s been clarified a few times” in recent months.

‘More receptive’

San Jose’s shifting assessment of the builder’s remedy rules is helpful, in Staedler’s view.

“It appears the city is becoming more receptive to these kinds of projects than they were in the past,” Staedler said. “Getting more housing in north San Jose is always helpful.”

Years ago, the development site was part of the land that would have been needed for an entertainment district of restaurants, shops, hotels, and lively gathering places near the interchange of State Route 237 and North First Street.

For an array of reasons, the entertainment district proposal fizzled, and plans fell by the wayside. Now this housing development and a nearby data center complex are poised to sprout on sites that would have provided the land for the district.

The housing proposal has emerged at a time when more affordable options are in demand in the Bay Area and San Jose.

“We are happy they are building affordable housing there,” Krause said.