SAN JOSE — A South Bay government agency has purchased another San Jose senior citizens affordable housing complex that had been seized by federal officials through the foreclosure of a delinquent mortgage.
The Santa Clara County Housing Authority has bought the Jardines Paloma Blanca housing complex at 132 North Jackson Avenue in San Jose, according to documents filed on July 19 with the county real estate officials.
The housing agency has paid $2.65 million for the Jardines Paloma Blanca complex, as stated in the documents filed with the County Recorder’s Office.
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department sold the 43-unit residential complex to the County Housing Authority after it had foreclosed on a real estate loan it had issued to the previous owner of the complex.
This is the second instance within a week that HUD has foreclosed on a mortgage for a senior citizens housing center and then immediately sold the complex to the County Housing Authority.
On July 13, the county agency paid $4.15 million to acquire Girasol Housing, a 59-unit apartment complex at 1710 Alum Rock Avenue in east San Jose, as shown in county property documents.
In the case of the Jardines Paloma Blanca complex on North Jackson, HUD provided the mortgage to an affiliate of Macsa Housing Corp. in 1994.
At the time of the foreclosure, the unpaid debt, including the original mortgage amount, late fees, interest, and penalties, amounted to $10.5 million, according to county records.
The price paid by the County Housing Authority was significantly lower than the amount of unpaid debt and well below the property value of the Jardines Paloma Blanca complex, which was $5.5 million as of June 2023, according to the County Assessor’s Office.
The reason why the HUD loan far exceeded the assessed value of the Jardines apartments is unclear.
However, one thing is certain: the County Housing Authority is committed to ensuring that the residents of the senior citizens’ complex can continue to reside in the Jardines Paloma Blanca apartments without any interruption.
The Housing Authority has initiated an outreach effort to contact all the residents of the center in their primary language to reassure them that they can remain in the apartments at their current affordable rent levels, as confirmed by Fidel Contreras, a spokesperson for the County Housing Authority.
In addition, the purchase of the senior housing centers aligns perfectly with one of the primary missions of the county agency.
“It’s all about the preservation of affordable housing,” Contreras said.