\u201cI would call us the survivors because we are the ones who refuse to move,\u201d Gamel Way resident Tania Peneva said. \u201cAnd we still are withstanding all the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Built decades ago, the apartment complex is covered by Mountain View\u2019s rent control law. At one time, it was a bustling community<\/a> composed largely of working-class immigrant families. Today, the complex is quieter \u2014 but still a lifeline for those who cannot afford paying market-rate rents<\/a> in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThe building is very old,\u201d Peneva said. \u201cIt\u2019s outdated but it\u2019s still livable.\u201d<\/p>\n When Peneva moved into her two-bedroom apartment in the late 1990s, the rent was $850 a month, she said. It has since risen to nearly $1,500, still far below the asking price for an average two-bedroom in Mountain View. Those go for roughly $4,500 a month, according to a recent Zumper analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Peneva likely will not have the option of staying at Gamel Way for much longer. The termination notices she once received yearly now come to her mailbox every four months, she told the Mountain View Voice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made a home here,\u201d Peneva said. \u201cBut it might not be our home tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n The threat of the wrecking ball<\/p>\n Ten years ago, Mountain View voters passed a rent control law<\/a>\u00a0with the aim of keeping homes affordable for lower-income residents. In the years that followed, the city was hit with several demolition projects<\/a> that displaced tenants<\/a> from rent-controlled apartments, often to make way for pricey rowhouses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of those projects resulted in fewer homes<\/a>\u00a0than existed before, according to Mayor Emily Ann Ramos<\/a>, a tenant advocate who served on the city\u2019s Rental Housing Committee at the time. In 2019, Mountain View started to develop<\/a> an anti-displacement strategy<\/a> to preserve affordable apartments, but it was slow-going at first, Ramos said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a discussion of, \u2018What do we do about it?\u2019 And in true government fashion, it took awhile to do something,\u201d Ramos recalled.<\/p>\n Around that time, the DeNardi Group \u2014 now known as DeNardi Wang Homes \u2014 submitted an application<\/a> to raze the apartment buildings and build for-sale condos at 1919-1945 Gamel Way.<\/p>\n The developer did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the project and their plans to assist tenants in relocating.<\/p>\n Back when DeNardi first proposed the redevelopment, it sought to build 118 condos, but there was a catch. The project hinged on the sale of Gamel Way, which is currently a public road. That gave Mountain View some leverage.<\/p>\n \u201cHow the developers envisioned that project, the city would have to sell them that cul-de-sac,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n It was not just the City Council that had a bargaining chip. Gamel Way residents also put pressure on DeNardi. They formed a tenants union<\/a> and hired a lawyer to try and save their homes, or at the very least, help them negotiate options to stay in Mountain View.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were sure that we would have to leave soon,\u201d Ga\u00ebl Sisich, a Gamel Way resident and tenant organizer, said. \u201cWe put up a good fight<\/a> for at least a year.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2021, the council approved the 118-condo project<\/a>. The developer had agreed to replace all the rent-controlled apartments with affordable condos and provide relocation benefits for existing tenants, including paying the difference in the cost to rent a comparable apartment for 42 months. DeNardi also struck a deal to pay the city $4.8 million for the street.<\/p>\n Since then, the plans have changed. In 2023, DeNardi submitted a new application \u2014 this time for a builder\u2019s remedy project with 216 condos, nearly twice the size of the original project. After several years, it now appears the revised project is moving forward, with the council planning to vote on selling the street next month. It is not yet known when the council will vote on whether to approve the actual development.<\/p>\n For Sisich, the project delays have been an unexpected boon as it pushed out the eviction timeline. But the threat of demolition also created an atmosphere of uncertainty, prompting tenants to move out before it was necessary to do so. Of the 29 apartments, only six are still occupied, Sisich said in July.<\/p>\n Humberto and Maria Cruz were among those who packed up their bags. The couple had been living in a studio apartment on Gamel Way with their two daughters, paying $1,250 a month, Humberto Cruz said. Worried they would be thrown out onto the streets, the family left four years ago after receiving two termination notices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was difficult to find another place,\u201d he said in Spanish, noting that he works in pest control and does not make a lot of money. \u201cRents in the area are expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n The family eventually found a mobile home in Mountain View to rent for $3,500 a month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel like we were tricked,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are paying so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Someone will benefit \u2026 but it may not be my neighbors\u2019<\/p>\n In the past five years, tenant protections have gotten stronger in the state. Senate Bill 330<\/a> requires demolished rent-controlled homes to be replaced by affordable housing at a one-to-one ratio. It also stipulates that developers must provide relocation benefits for lower-income households and a \u201cright of first refusal,\u201d giving tenants first dibs to rent or purchase a home in the new development.<\/p>\n Mountain View recently updated its tenant protection policy<\/a>, largely to align with SB 330. The changes included increasing relocation assistance and clarifying the process for notifying tenants when they must vacate a property.<\/p>\n Since 2016, there have been 24 development projects that have displaced \u2014 or are slated to displace \u2014 tenants from homes covered under Mountain View\u2019s rent control policy. Those two dozen properties consisted of 891 rental homes, 748 of which were occupied, according to city spokesperson Lenka Wright.<\/p>\n While city and state laws were in many ways designed for situations like Gamel Way, it is unclear how much they will help tenants in the long term. Sisich is on a fixed income and said he still needed to find a place to live that would not drain his savings. Eventually, the rental assistance will run out, he said.<\/p>\n Sisich also questioned the feasibility of purchasing a condo at Gamel Way, even though residents will have the right of first refusal. Of the 216 condos that are slated to get built, 44 have been designated below market-rate. That includes 29 \u201creplacement\u201d condos, which will have their sale prices set at the income levels of the current tenants.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MV-Gamel-Way-eviction-Embarcadero-e1786382230552-1024x892.webp\")
Tania Peneva outside her apartment on Gamel Way in Mountain View on July 29, 2026. Photo by Michael Molcsan.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gamel-Way-MV-Embarcadero-1024x682.webp\")
A developer is planning to construct a condominium project on Gamel Way in Mountain View. Photo by Seeger Gray.<\/p>\n![\"Carports](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MV-Gamel-Way-eviction-3-Embarcadero-1024x683.webp\")
As of July, only six of the 29 apartments along Gamel Way were still occupied, according to resident Ga\u00ebl Sisich. Photo by Michael Molcsan.<\/p>\n