Michael Melillo<\/a>, a district parent and former co-chair of the Measure R campaign, said the district should construct\u00a0employee housing on its own land rather than investing in a building it doesn\u2019t own.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was going as smoothly as could be expected for a project of this size and scale. The condo purchase came out of the blue,\u201d he told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cFrom a long-term perspective \u2026 the potential risk of owning those units in a tower, as opposed to an entire facility on land that they own and control, it doesn\u2019t make much sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, Melillo said the bond measure passed with a union labor agreement attached to it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a very important piece of the bond measure, in particular because organized labor was a big part of how the measure was able to pass,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did a lot of the door knocking and campaigning. It doesn\u2019t sit right with me to then use those funds to buy the condo units.\u201d<\/p>\n Seth Reddy, chief business officer of the San Jose Unified School District, said no decision has been made to purchase any property.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t bought anything beyond exploratory contracts for consultants to do the necessary due diligence,\u201d Reddy told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBond funds would be used to fund either the construction or purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n Reddy said the school district will have more information on the viability of its options in the next several months \u2014 and hasn\u2019t ruled out purchasing the condos. The property is owned by New York-based Machine Investment Group and Centurion Real Estate Partners, which purchased the towers in foreclosure for $182 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have taken the initial steps to conduct exploratory due diligence on potential opportunities to determine whether purchasing an already-built residential development could provide affordable workforce housing for employees more quickly, at lower overall cost than constructing a comparable development,\u201d Reddy said, adding that would mean more Measure R funds for schools.<\/p>\n Developers such as Erik Hayden, founder of real estate equity fund Urban Catalyst, said it makes sense. Hayden said in addition to being more expensive to build, including paying union wages, ground-up development has to procure entitlements and can be subject to potential neighborhood opposition.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great short-term solution. If they got the right deal on Silvery Towers, they should take it,\u201d Hayden told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWhat that (bond) was passed for was to get teachers affordable housing, and if they can get an awesome deal on an already built building that\u2019s cheaper than building their own building, they 100% should take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Renata Sanchez, president of the San Jose Teachers Union, said almost 900 surveyed employees responded that they\u2019d be interested in affordable housing provided by the district. Sanchez said during workforce housing advisory committee meetings, residents recommended the district look at purchasing vacant properties instead of building on land that is now used for educational purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, there were no options available to consider purchasing at a similar scale from what we have been considering building,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The issue of teacher housing began back in 2019 when district leaders explored solutions that included building affordable teacher housing on district property \u2014 a concept pursued by the district for a little more than a year \u2014 however, there was plenty of pushback. The district looked at four locations<\/a> include parking lot 9 at the San Jose Unified offices, River Glen School, The Second Start-Pine Hill School and the Metropolitan Education District on Hillsdale Avenue.<\/p>\n The district later focused on the Hillsdale site following a recommendation from its advisory committee in February 2025. Reddy said attracting and retaining high-performing teachers and other workers remains a priority.<\/p>\n \u201cThe high cost of living continues to be an impediment,\u201d he said. \u201cWe conducted a survey in January 2025 and 43% of the over 1,200 respondents had considered leaving their job in the next five years due to housing costs. Affordable housing opportunities mean more teachers and staff don\u2019t have to work extra jobs to make ends meet, can live in our community, have shorter commutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Reddy said after receiving an update from consultants in September, the district submitted a preliminary review to the city. Following feedback, it updated its design for the Hillsdale site.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s going to continue until it shouldn\u2019t, if another decision is made,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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