Ayer Station - The Kelsey

The Kelsey Ayer Station is The Kelsey’s first housing community. The development is accessible for residents with a diverse range of access needs, affordable to residents at the lowest income levels, and inclusive of people with and without disabilities.

N First Street, San Jose, CA

The Kelsey Ayer Station is a fully inclusive mixed-ability, mixed-income housing community located in a transit-oriented neighborhood blocks north of downtown San Jose. The 115 apartment homes include a mix of 2-bedrooms and studios for individuals with and without disabilities across a range of incomes. The project features shared community amenities and outdoor spaces. The Inclusion Concierge connects residents to each other, the community, and desired services and supports.

An outdoor patio at The Kelsey Ayer Station with chairs and a table. People sit in seats and wheelchairs at a table. People sit in chairs around another table. There is also a grill. A few people mill about.

A studio apartment in The Kelsey Ayer Station with a bed, a dining table and a countertop with a sink.

The fitness room at The Kelsey Ayer Station with equipment, weights, plants, and lights. There is a person running and a person using a wheelchair in the weight areas. Windows overlook the street and trees.

Fast Facts

115 homes with 25% reserved for people with disabilities
Rents ranging from vouchers for extremely low income individuals to missing middle and essential workforce housing
Fully accessible design supporting diverse physical, sensory, and support access needs
Amenities include a fitness room, maker space, rooftop resident terrace, sensory garden, support staff offices, dog run and pet-friendly units, transit passes and coordination, community lobby, bike parking, and on-site Inclusion Concierge
$75M community. First project funded from Google’s affordable housing fund for predevelopment; Construction and Permanent funders: City of San Jose, California Department of Housing and Community Development Transit Oriented Development Program, US Department of Housing & Urban Development, Capital One, Enterprise Community Partners, California Housing Finance Agency, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and individual supporters
Detailed case study for other housers, policymakers, and advocates in The Kelsey’s Learn Center

"[People with and without disabilities] need to be at the table of designing what an individual person would like to live in or where they would like to live rather than have someone else decide for them."
Darcy McCann, Advocate
The Kelsey Community Advisory Group Member

Units and Residents

The Kelsey Ayer Station includes a mix of workforce housing, affordable, and deeply affordable homes to welcome residents across a diversity of incomes and with diverse affordability needs. 25% of homes are reserved for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across all incomes. Our signature Inclusion Concierge helps build community for residents with and without disabilities, as well as connect them to outside supports and services.

Key Amenities

In conversation with community members with and without disabilities, individuals repeatedly spoke to some key design needs: flexible spaces that promote connection, outdoor amenities, and universally designed spaces. We’re excited to incorporate all three into The Kelsey Ayer Station, as the building includes approximately 8,000 square feet of community spaces. A gathering space on the ground floor creates room for neighbors to connect. Each floor includes community spaces such as lounges, fitness rooms, and shared workstations. Residents can socialize on the community terrace or spend quiet moments in the sensory garden. The entire building utilizes the Inclusive Design Standards to ensure that all spaces are accessible and inclusive.

Location

We selected this site because of its proximity to transit, jobs, arts, culture, services, and healthcare. The site is 500 feet from VTA light rail, less than a mile walk or wheel from downtown San Jose, and 1.5 miles to Diridon station. Bike parking and transit screens support a climate-friendly, car-free lifestyle. Our residents will have quick access to jobs, community life, and entertainment without ever having to get into a car. We’re already building relationships with key community organizations that will be project partners in service delivery, employment, and promoting active community life for all members of The Kelsey Ayer Station.

Development Partners

The Kelsey is excited to be working with Sares Regis Group of Northern California (SRGNC) and Devine and Gong, Inc (DGI) as development partners on this project.

Sares Regis is a San Mateo-based developer of high-quality rental and ownership communities throughout the Bay Area. Since 1992, SRGNC has acquired or developed approximately 19,000 multi-family and residential housing units and 14 million square feet of commercial and civic properties. They currently have a residential pipeline of over 2,500 residences both for sale and for rent valued at over $1.5 billion and over $2.5 billion of commercial activity in the Bay Area.

Devine and Gong, Inc, formed in 1985, provides finance and development services for the acquisition, rehabilitation and operation of affordable housing projects in the western United States. They specialize in projects subsidized or insured by federal, state, or local governments. DGI exists to enhance and fortify the assets of low-income communities. They are dedicated to improving the lives of low-income families, seniors, and special needs clients through the development of decent, safe, affordable housing and other real estate.