San Jose’s biggest modular shelter is about to get a permanent upgrade. The City Council has voted to convert the Branham Lane interim housing campus into long-term supportive housing, turning what began as a quick-build emergency site into permanent apartments for roughly 200 residents.
The three-story complex at 1 Branham Lane opened in February 2025 with apartment-style modular units. Since then, neighbors and some staff have raised steady alarms about safety and day-to-day operations, even as the site has provided private rooms and stability for people who were previously homeless.
How the site was built and funded
The project launched with an early pre-opening event on Feb. 12, 2025, as LifeMoves rolled out what it described as a multistory modular interim campus serving both families and single adults with on-site supportive services, according to a release from LifeMoves. The organization said the development was largely financed through California’s Project Homekey program, backed by city, county, and philanthropic dollars, and highlighted the campus’s capacity and design when it opened.
Council vote and next steps
Last Tuesday, the City Council signed off on converting 1 Branham Lane from a temporary shelter into permanent supportive housing. The change, proposed in a memo by District 2 Councilmember Pamela Campos, was reported by San José Spotlight. Campos told the outlet the complex was engineered from the start to be convertible and argued that making it permanent would increase the supply of desperately needed permanent housing while trimming operating costs. Councilmembers directed the city manager to return with an implementation update by Aug. 31.
Arrest, contract change and safety concerns
The push to lock in permanent housing comes in the shadow of a headline-grabbing drug bust involving a caseworker and a shake-up in who runs the site. Police accounts and local coverage say officers stopped a vehicle, recovered about 3.4 ounces of suspected methamphetamine packaged for sale, and arrested a Branham Lane employee on drug charges. In the days that followed, the city moved to terminate LifeMoves’ operating contract for the campus. Coverage in Yahoo News describes the arrest and the operator change.
What officials say about residents
A spokesperson for the San Jose Housing Department told San José Spotlight that the state, county, former operator and a new, yet-to-be-named provider will all help guide the transition, and that no current client at the site will be displaced as operations shift. Turning a Homekey-funded interim campus into permanent housing is not automatic, though. City Homekey guidance spells out additional planning, permits and program requirements for such conversions, according to documents from the City of San José.
Neighbors split and what to watch
The neighborhood is divided over what the conversion will mean on the ground. Some nearby residents argue that locking in permanent housing will finally calm the area after months of alarms, loitering and criminal complaints. Residents living inside the Branham Lane complex, on the other hand, say having a private unit has been nothing short of lifesaving…