CPP Completes Extensive San Jose Rehab Project

El Rancho Verde. Image courtesy of Community Preservation Partners

Community Preservation Partners (CPP) has completed the most extensive rehabilitation project in its history at the sprawling El Rancho Verde multifamily community in San Jose, Calif. The 49-building, 700-unit property serves seniors and intergenerational families. Prior to the rehabilitation, the community had not been renovated for 19 years.

With L&M Development Partners, CPP purchased the property for $370 million in 2018 and embarked on a $50 million rehabilitation program, which included the addition of solar thermal systems and wireless security on campus. Financing for the rehabilitation project received support from Citi Community Capital and Wells Fargo. The investment in El Rancho Verde means residents will see affordable rents locked in for 55 years, a critical assurance in San Jose, where mushrooming rent expenses now average $3,000 monthly.

Last month, L&M Development Partners unveiled a fully affordable community in Far Rockaway, N.Y.

Ideal opportunity

“El Rancho Verde is a community that is directly aligned with our mission and our vision,” CPP Vice President Karen Buckland, told Multi-Housing News.

“This multigenerational family project appeared to be functioning fine on the surface, but was tired and needed modernizing and overall re-energizing. We knew if we were successful in getting this marketed project under site control, it would be an ideal opportunity for CPP to improve the physical buildings, enhance the environment for the residents and, most importantly, extend the affordability on a project that is located in an extremely rent-burdened community. It would be a win all around.”   

Reduced costs

Partially constructed in 1969, El Rancho Verde expanded with a second phase three years later. CPP undertook electrical enhancements to help reduce utility costs for residents. The rehabilitation also included full kitchen renovations, new bathroom cabinetry and fixtures and new flooring and windows. Community gardens, outdoor exercise equipment and barbecue areas, as well as exterior stucco and repainting and a reclaimed water system were additional enhancements of the Certified GreenPoint Rated project.

Among the more noteworthy amenities of the community are two fitness centers. CPP plans to deliver enhanced services to residents of El Rancho Verde that will include after-school programs, tutoring, heath and wellness events and on-site daycare.