The Cannery at Lewis Street

High-quality, affordable family housing supports a restored downtown Gilroy.

The Gilroy Cannery on Lewis Street was once the heart of Gilroy’s thriving agricultural industry. The canning facility operated for over 100 years but closed in 1997 and was eventually demolished. The City prepared a master plan to redevelop the 14-acre site, and various market rate residential products were built. With the support of the City of Gilroy, Meta Housing transformed the last component of the larger development into contemporary high-density housing for low-income families. Completed in 2019, The Cannery Apartments is considered an integral part of the City’s larger efforts to restore the economic and social life of downtown Gilroy.

Totaling 104 units, The Cannery Apartments offers one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for families earning between 50% and 60% of the area’s median income. The building has a “U” shape that surrounds a large open courtyard with an outdoor dog park, children’s playground, community garden, and resident lounge equipped with a kitchen and dining room.

Embracing the vision of the Downtown Gilroy Specific Plan, the building’s exterior incorporates exposed brick and corrugated steel siding. Its streetscape features colorful, mosaic art panels that portray fruit that was once canned onsite. Meta Housing also worked closely with the City to exhibit archived photos of the Gilroy Cannery within the building’s interior.