Former Santa Clara Motel Begins Transformation into Affordable Apartment Complex

A Santa Clara motel that housed hundreds of formerly homeless people is being rebuilt as permanent housing for some of the county’s poorest residents. Earlier this month, Santa Clara County officials and nonprofit developer Resources for Community Development (RCD) broke ground on Clara Gardens, a $111.3 million project, located at 3550 El Camino. Renovation of the former Bella Vista Inn and the addition of a new seven-story building will provide 120 apartments. All are restricted to households earning no more than 50% of area median income (AMI). A quarter of the development — 30 apartments — will be permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless people, with on-site services meant to help them stay housed. The rest will go to households earning up to 30% or 50% of AMI. The project began as an emergency measure. When California launched its Homekey program to move at-risk homeless people into motels during the pandemic, the county and RCD saw the property as both a sto