Italian Gardens, a joint venture between MidPen Housing and Sacred Heart Catholic Church, is part of the Tamien Station Area Plan to redevelop the transit-oriented locale with high-density urban housing. Receiving the Gold Nugget Award of Merit from the 2005 Pacific Coast Builders Conference and a 2004 Builder’s Choice Award of Merit from Builder Magazine, Italian Gardens was designed with a “board and batten” appearance consistent with the neighborhood. It also reflects the style of the historic 1920s Tudor revival home located on the community site, the Lo Curto house. Surrounding Italian Gardens and the Lo Curto house is a park-like area of trees, ponds and grottos – designated landmarks by the City of San Jose. The house and park were preserved and rehabilitated as part of the affordable housing development.
