Wednesday, May 15, 2013

May 2013 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:
  • Music in the Park returns July 19th for a single show headlined by Grammy Award-winner Ozomatli. The show will be happening on a Friday at St. James Park, and there will be an admission fee ($10-15 for those over 12 years old)
  • Neighbors are asking VTA to drop plans to put a light rail bypass track in the St. James Park area.
  • More details on the Centerra high-rise are leaking out. The 21-story 347-unit apartment building across from the San Pedro Square Market will be made out of brick and limestone. The 7,000 SQFT of retail facing the SPSM will be sub-divisible into 1,000 SQFT shops and the space is expected to be occupied by businesses that will complement the market. The builders are hoping to raze structures on the site in the next 60 days and start construction this summer. The building should be ready by 2015.
  • Groundworks survey results came back for 2013 and showed positive gains in stakeholder's perceptions of Downtown cleanliness, clean teams, beautification projects, and tree maintenance plans. There were drops in the survey for satisfaction with improved safety, overall image, and overall condition. [Josh: That should change when new safety measures are put in place by Groundwerx].
  • Ike's Place is opening a new sandwich shop at the northeast corner of Second and Santa Clara Streets!
  • Pauly's Famous Franks N Fries is open at 312 S. Third St., serving over 50 different hot dog combinations.
  • Amir Mediterranean Cuisine is now open at the former Morocco's site at 86 N. Market.
  • Chandler Pratt & Partners wants to build a mixed-use project at 785 and 795 The Alameda, between the new Whole Foods and Arena Hotel. This would include 98 residential units sitting on top of retail.
  • The 7.7 mile section of the Guadalupe River Trail from 880 to Alviso is now fully paved.
  • SubZERO will be taking place along SoFA on June 7th.
To read the full newsletter, click here!



8 comments:

  1. Kudos to the grounworks folks....they do a great job and are always friendly. It also seems a very dignified operation all together–the uniforms, etc. I hope their workers confirm that mine is the correct impression.

    I love the flower spheres all over downtown! Always have. Gives a very special touch to downtown SJ.

    Now...if we could get some quality retail and curb the vagrancy....SD

    ReplyDelete
  2. The homeless are getting on my nerves. I was biking through the river trail the other day during lunch hours and saw the a dozen homeless folks taking up residence in the grass lawn at the back of the Adobe HQ, and it's just a BIG FAT eyesore. I'm surprised the city has not done something about it, as the green space is probably public and Adobe can't do anything about it, I would imagine :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Completely agree, we need to do something about this. We don't want to become like SF with the homeless population.

      Delete
    2. Don't even get me started on the vagrancy problem at St James Park. There are a couple of spots on the east side of the park that have become encampments. It's shameful that the city/police do absolutely nothing about it. The least they could do is keep the playground clear for kids to use but they can't even bother to do that.

      Delete
    3. You couldn't pay me to bring my kids to the playground at SJP. I feel like they'll get stuck with needles or something. Shame.

      Delete
  3. Looks like Cabritos closed permanently this week. Hopefully something interesting takes that space.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Darn, I wish they could have hung on a little longer. Perhaps that would be a good location for the San Jose Cooperative Brewery and Pub.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, that'd be pretty great. BTW, I took a look at your restaurant list and you're missing a couple of things.

      At SPSM:

      Recently opened: Pops & Sons Soda Co.
      Upcoming: Bray Butcher Block & Bistro, Treatbot Float Bar

      Other:

      Chef Mo's Cafe

      Delete