SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — The San Jose City Council is poised to approve $3 million to fund a new project that will continue the revitalization of the East Side.
“Today is about more than a funding announcement,” Councilmember Peter Ortiz said. “It’s about showing what happens when we finally invest in East San Jose.”
It will be a new hub for culture, food access and community wellness right across the street from the Mexican Heritage Plaza – aptly named “La Placita,” the little plaza.
Residents say it will lead to a big impact on the community.
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“This is an improvement that we’ve been waiting for years,” Plata Arroyo Neighborhood Assoc. President Danny Garza said. “The improvements for the community, not just the neighborhood, but for Alum Rock Avenue, are drastic You can almost not measure it.”
The 28,000-square-foot project will take over the existing space that sits mostly empty along Alum Rock Avenue.
In addition to the businesses that are already here, like Gardner Health Services, construction will soon begin on a new black box theater and a community cafe.
It combines the needs of the community in an accessible place for those who will benefit from it most.
“This is not the margins of San Jose,” Mexican Heritage Plaza School of Arts and Culture CEO Jessica Paz-Cedillos said. “This is a neighborhood that has always shaped the city’s culture, workforce and civic life and it deserves investment that reflects that.”
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The millions of dollars coming from the city of San Jose is part of a larger investment from Councilmember Ortiz.
He has sought to deliver on needs grounded in economic empowerment, neighborhood beautification, public safety, accountability and equitable investment – like La Placita.
This is especially needed in a time when he says the federal government seeks to take so much away from communities like this.
“This is the time in which cities, like the City of San Jose, should be stepping up and supporting this population through support for our small businesses, support for our art community and support for our nonprofits,” Ortiz said. “And I think the city is standing up to take that call.”
With funding secured, the official groundbreaking for La Placita project will take place on Jan. 29.
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