Before he arrived at Heartwood Apartments in Mountain View, Ruben Gonzalez was one of thousands without a place to call home in Santa Clara County.
“I was on the streets for a month and a half, and a shelter for almost a year,” said Gonzalez, a former plumber and landscaper from Morgan Hill. “You can be homeless, but you don’t have to be hopeless.”
Heartwood Apartments, which opened in October 2024, is part of Project Homekey — a state initiative that provides funds to organizations or entities that allow them to purchase and transform properties into permanent or temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness. The Mountain View site, which was previously the Crestview Hotel, houses a mix of residents, including transitional-age youth and households “experiencing or at risk of chronic homelessness.”
The development includes 34 studio units, four one-bedrooms, 10 two-bedrooms and one three-bedroom unit.
Most of the current tenants will approach their first year of residency at Heartwood this October.
“It’s been life-changing for a lot of the residents,” said Julie Marquez, director of supportive services for Heartwood Apartments. “Some previously homeless residents have severe health issues, and so having somewhere stable to live has given them an opportunity to take care of those health issues. It’s given some opportunities to get new jobs or just be stable in one place.”
For Gonzalez, who is recovering from substance and alcohol abuse, access to housing has been a turning point. He said he was proud his father was able to visit his new apartment last October before passing away two months later.
“There was a point where I thought I was going to give up,” Gonzalez said. “Sleeping outside, not being able to shower, having no steady schedule to eat — it was pretty hard.”
Nicole Leonard, another Heartwood resident, said she ended up getting housing at the Mountain View site after becoming her mother’s caretaker after she was diagnosed with cancer.
“I had to move out of my condo to move in with her, and eventually we could not afford the rent,” Leonard said. “I was doing everything on my own, so we ended up here. It’s been a blessing.”
She now lives in a Heartwood unit with her daughter, Ahriyah Norflet, and French bulldog Jade. “It’s very safe. We can take walks, we love shopping, and we’re lucky because this is a very expensive place to live,” Leonard said.
Residents and neighbors gathered Tuesday for National Night Out, a nationwide event aimed at building relationships between communities and local law enforcement. The Mountain View celebration featured a DJ, games and tacos, with many neighbors meeting for the first time.
Project Homekey has generated mixed reactions from various neighborhoods where similar redevelopments have been proposed.
A Bay Area News Group review last year found that some sites in the region are facing neglect, crime and financial instability, while others have seen success, helping many residents secure permanent housing. In the Bay Area, the state has funded more than three dozen projects in 17 cities.
On the Peninsula, a proposed Homekey site at La Quinta Inn in Millbrae sparked backlash that led to the recall of two City Council members. San Mateo County ultimately dropped the plan after the state declined to fund it.
Mountain View residents this news organization spoke with near Heartwood say their experience has been positive so far.
Ruth Chavira Lopez, who has lived nearby with her husband for more than 30 years, said she initially heard negative comments — such as worries about property values and crime — but has since seen the project enhance the neighborhood.
“I’ve seen more people walking dogs, so that’s good,” she said. “We were hearing worries that it would bring property values down, but for us, it’s been positive. I like how they reached out to the neighbors, so my husband and I said, ‘Let’s go meet our new neighbors.’”
Housing costs in Mountain View, a hub for tech giants like Google’s parent company Alphabet and Intuit, remain steep. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,844, according to Zillow.
Among the first Heartwood tenants was Cameron Chavarria, 24, a part-time teaching assistant in Palo Alto who became homeless after their parents struggled with addiction. Originally from Los Banos, Chavarria had been paying rent since age 16.
“I hope I go back to school, then one day invest in my own home,” Chavarria said. “For now, I’m taking it day by day to see what I can do.”
Chavarria hopes to be able to teach full time one day.
Gonzalez, who is recovering from back pain and hopes to work again, offers a simple piece of advice to others experiencing homelessness.
“People can change,” he said. “It’s not going to come to you — if you really want it, you have to go get it.”
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