| RINCON DE LOS ESTEROS APARTMENTS
1780 Oakland Road
San Jose, California
408-437-1303
www.LosEsteros.org
Rincon de Los Esteros (Los Esteros) is a 246-unit affordable
housing project on a 7.7 acre site in north San Jose.
In all, there are eight residential buildings and a
Clubhouse on the site. The buildings' arrangement on
the site creates diversity of open spaces. The buildings'
individual stoop entrances and gates to patios encourage
strong resident interaction. The central cross axis
open area includes the Clubhouse on one end and a secured
Tot Lot and adjacent sitting area on the other.
At 3,034 square feet, the Clubhouse serves as a leasing
and management office as well as the projects' community
and recreation center. The Clubhouse includes many amenities,
such as a lounge with fireplace, video room with adjacent
kitchen, restrooms with showers and offices for a Resident
Services Coordinator and a leasing/management wing.
Outside amenities include a 50-foot pool with ample
sitting area and an arcade on two sides, which provides
additional outdoor activity areas and also promotes
a sense of enclosure and security.
All of the residential buildings are four stories with
three of the buildings having a fully secured, single
level, below grade podium parking garage. The site has
456 parking spaces with 102 spaces in the three garages.
There are 12 one-bedroom units at 600 square feet. The
two-bedroom units total 150 and range from 849 to 857
square feet. The remaining units are all three bedrooms,
84 units total, ranging from 1,104 to 1,400 square feet.
Building exteriors are wood horizontal siding and cedar
shingles. There are wood decks, wood brackets and trellises,
canvas awnings and other trim components to add color,
articulation and richness to the buildings. The living
rooms on the upper floors have raised ceilings with
pyramid shaped roofs covered in painted metal roofing.
All of the buildings are further articulated with vertical
planes of color. The Clubhouse has EIFS cladding, which
is intended to complement the design of the residential
buildings in order to achieve diversity and sense of
hierarchy within the project. The smooth white walls
of the Clubhouse add an additional element, distinguishing
the unique role of this building within the community.
At the same time, common themes (wood brackets, accent
colors, metal roofing, pyramid roofed tower) are introduced
to ensure a level of continuity.
Los Esteros was recognized with the "1985 Builder's
Choice Grand Award", featured in the October, 1995
issue of Builder Magazine, and included in the January,
1996 issue of Architectural Record. In 1997, Los Esteros
also received an "Honor Award" from the AIA/Santa
Clara Valley Chapter.
Additional Project Information:
Density: 32 units/acre
Cost: $67/square foot (1995 costs)
Completed: 1994
Architect: Fisher Friedman Associates
AIA
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