Showing posts with label north san jose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label north san jose. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

San Jose will get $12.7 million to build 200 tiny homes

San Jose is acquiring state funding to purchase 200 tiny homes to house a portion of our homeless population. San Jose qualified for the funding due to its record of actually building interim housing instead of just talking about it. So far San Jose has built 499 small homes and plans for 784 more beds.

San Jose already has a site selected for the new homes in North San Jose near VTA operations. The project will be named the Cerone Interim Housing Community and it is expected to open next year.

Source: Patch



Monday, January 29, 2024

New housing development proposed in North San Jose

250 apartments are being eyed in North San Jose at North First Street between Charcot and East Brokaw. Currently there is a 122,500 SQFT six-story office building on the site. It's not clear if this is an office conversion or they are planning to tear down and replace the building. Given the size of the building there already, my bet is on an office-to-housing conversion.

Source: The Mercury News




Friday, January 5, 2024

Updated photos of the tallest buildings in Santa Clara

Santa Clara is growing up. The Tasman East area at the border with North San Jose and Alviso is going to have several new mixed-use residential towers go live well before Super Bowl 60. Gillynova from Skyscraper City has a ton of new photos of the development in the area.

These are the first residential high-rises in Santa Clara (besides a SCU dorm) and feature surprising amenities like rooftop pools. The towers are 238 and 219 feet tall. There is also a new midrise housing building which you can see below.

There are plans for even more towers in the future courtesy of Related Co, who also wants to build hotels, offices, and an entertainment complex right in front of Levi's Stadium.

Source: gillynova from Skyscraper City








Friday, November 24, 2023

804 new home proposed in Alviso next to San Jose's Topgolf

There are several large parcels in Alviso earmarked for major development, the first of which became Silicon Valley's first Topgolf. Another that was supposed to be an entertainment and retail center has transitioned to become a future data center. Now a parcel that was originally going to be a hotel is pivoting to homes, and quite a large number of them.

Genesis Commercial Capital wants to build 804 new homes on a 3.2 acre site on North First Street right next to the Topgolf--see map below. They are utilizing the state's builder's remedy to expedite and streamline the approval process (the same builder's remedy that is also sometimes weaponized to downsize previously approved projects).

At least 20% of the homes will have to be earmarked as affordable housing. Currently there is no target ETA, but given how badly San Jose needs housing I think it will be a quick approval and more in the hands of the developer on how soon they want to move dirt and get the project up and running.

Source: SVBJ




Thursday, November 2, 2023

110 townhomes proposed in North San Jose at existing office site

As the office market struggles to recover, project after project has been pivoting to housing. The latest proposal is coming from SummerHill Homes and would involve replacing a two-story office building with 110 townhomes on a 5.1-acre site at 90 East Tasman Drive. 

This is a great location in the middle of the tech world's "Golden Triangle." It's in front of a VTA Light Rail stop and is a few stations away from either Levi's Stadium to the west or Milpitas BART and The Great Mall to the east.




While townhomes in many ways would certainly be an improvement over the current 1980s era office buildings at the current site, it's still a far cry from what Santa Clara is doing off of Tasman just over 1 mile away. That site is also 5-acres, but instead of townhomes it features a 23-story apartment building with 509 apartment and 191 senior housing units in a secondary tower. That is literally seven times the density of the San Jose proposal (see below).

The land here is extremely valuable. It would make sense to move a bit beyond townhomes at this point in North San Jose, especially with such great access to existing transit networks. 



Sunday, October 29, 2023

Three county offices relocated to North San Jose

A former Cisco office off Tasman in North San Jose will now provide a variety of Santa Clara County services in North San Jose. These include the Assessor's Office, the Department of Tax and Collections, and the Clerk-Recorder's Office.

These services used to be at 70 W. Hedding Street and 8523 North First Street and could be inconvenient when it comes to parking (which was mostly metered). It could also be a long walk from parking to the County offices, which are next to Courthouses and the San Jose Main Jail. On the other hand, the new offices have plentiful free and convenient parking yet are also still close to VTA bus routes and VTA Light Rail.

The new campus also has a special surprise for couples that are getting married--a brand new indoor and outdoor wedding chapel!

Source: SVBJ



Saturday, October 28, 2023

Green energy startup opening 50,000 SQFT factory in San Jose to turn bricks into batteries

A battery can be a lot of different things. One form I didn't expect was a brick. Antora Energy found a way to store heat inside of carbon blocks and then storing them while the brick stays at temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius or higher. When energy is needed, the system can leverage that heat for industrial uses or convert the heat back to electricity.

The 50,000 SQFT manufacturing facility will be built in North San Jose and should be completed in 2024. The first brick batteries are also expected to be manufactured and delivered to customers in 2024.

Source: BayAreaINNO



Friday, September 8, 2023

380 North 1st apartment project moves forward in North San Jose

A seven-story apartment project at 380 North 1st street is moving forward to environmental review. The proposal is an infill project that will replace a two-story commercial building at the edge of Downtown San Jose (5 minute walk to St. James Park).

The apartment building will have 118 homes, 18 of which will be designated as affordable units. There will be 74 parking spaces at the ground level using a car stacking system that will stack up to three cars on top of one another. There will also be parking for 30 bicycles and a bike cafe. An amenity deck is situated on the third floor and a clubroom with a balcony on the sixth floor.

Overall it's a significant upgrade from what was there before and is close to both Light Rail and transit lines (Buses 72 and 73 stop across the street).

Source: SF YIMBY




Thursday, August 17, 2023

Alviso/North San Jose entertainment district is now a data center

Next to the Topgolf in Alviso was a grand plan for an entertainment district containing shops, restaurants, and two hotels. Five years later, the area around Topgolf is still barren (although Topgolf is doing very well on its own). 

Now, the owners of the land are coming back to the city with a very different proposal that is likely to be a lot less exciting for North San Jose residents... a giant data center. I'm digging the exterior design with a living wall for the 172,500 SQFT two-story building and it's neighboring 174,400 SQFT three-story power center--but it's still a server farm. 

There is still hope for a 15,000 SQFT retail space, which could house a few restaurants. However, that is nothing compared the the multi-million SQFT projects Santa Clara is planning down the street. In a few years there will be tons of new apartments, office buildings, restaurants, shopping, and at least one new hotel across from Levi's stadium. Not to mention all of Great America will likely be turned into some mixed used mega-property like Santana Row over the next 10-15 years. 

Something is better than nothing from a city tax dollar perspective, but we should question whether this is the best use for this land. Once it's a data center, I don't think it will be convertible to anything else.

Source: The Merc





Saturday, July 29, 2023

Old Fry's HQ will become a giant office campus

The shuttered Mayan-themed Fry's store and previous Fry's HQ on Brokaw Road are destined to become a seven-building tech campus. Combined, they will add another 2 million SQFT of office space to North San Jose. 

However, don't expect to see this completed anytime soon. The developer is planning to build the project in four phases over a decade and won't even begin construction until 2024 at the soonest.

Source: SVBJ



Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Topgolf opens first Silicon Valley location in San Jose

North San Jose and Alviso are quiet parts of San Jose. There is honestly not much to do in terms of entertainment. Fortunately a new major amenity arrived a few months ago, Topgolf. It's part driving range, part Dave & Busters, and part gastropub.

The San Jose location is the first in the Bay Area as well as only the second location in all of Northern California. It is also one of only 4 flagship venues. To give you an idea of how popular these are, the Topgolf in Austin sells more alcohol than any other venue in Austin. The San Jose location is three stories with large bars and restaurants on each one.

The driving range aspect is more of a video game than anything else. Each golf ball has a microchip that lets it be tracked and the computer scores you based on your level of accuracy. There are also tons of games with different rules that you can play with your companions.

The food was surprisingly solid for a big chain. The burgers and fried mac & cheese were delicious. Service was a bit slow, but they were completely slammed when I went (on a Monday).

If you want to play, I would recommend getting a reservation since standby times can stretch to 4 hours or beyond. Parking is free, convenient, and they have a large number of free EV chargers as a bonus. It's also a great location for corporate events and parties. I experienced one firsthand and it was a blast.

For more info and to make reservations, head over here.



Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Market Park could bring thousands of homes and an office compound to North San Jose

A massive transit village has been proposed for the San Jose Flea Market right next to our new BART station. This is already the site of our largest project that is currently under construction. How massive you ask? The developers are looking to build 3,450 residential units and 3.4 MILLION square feet of commercial space. To put that in perspective that is roughly half of all the office space the exists in Downtown San Jose today.

The commercial component would be spread across seven buildings and three parking structures. The residential piece could utilize high-rises as tall as 200 feet, would would be very noticeable for the area. Other nearby amenities would include a plaza, pop-up retail space, an urban garden, a 1.4-acre rec area, tennis course, and a mini baseball field.

The bad news is that the Flea Market would be demolished to make way for the 61.5-acre project. There would be 150,000 SQFT of ground-floor retail and restaurants in the transit village, but it would not quite make up for losing a San Jose icon. However, given the vast increase in jobs, tax dollars, and density near transit--this project should be an easy approval by the city.

Source: SVBJ


Tuesday, September 29, 2020

New office building coming to North San Jose

LBA Realty has submitted plans for a new 125,000 SQFT four-story building near West Trimble Road in North San Jose. Amenities include two urban gardens, an amphitheater, a grove, and a greenroof terrace on the fourth floor.

This building is designed to compliment another approved 10-building project called NorthTown right next door which would span 1.28 million SQFT.

While the timing may seem off given the whole COVID situation, now is actually a great time to build preparing for a major rebound in 2021 or 2022. A lot of people (myself included) are missing going into the office and interacting with coworkers face-to-face.

Source: SVBJ



Tuesday, April 28, 2020

3.8 million SQFT office campus proposed in North San Jose

Bay West Development has proposed a 3.8 million SQFT office project at the former Fry's Electronics headquarters in San Jose (550 E. Brokaw Road). This would be one of the largest office projects of any kind in Silicon Valley, second only to what Google is proposing in Downtown San Jose.

The configuration would be seven large buildings and two parking structures, enough for 10,000 employees. The buildings would cap out at about eight stories or 120 feet. Unfortunately it does not appear like there is any attempt to make this a mixed use project combining residential and retail, but there is plenty of that in the area already.

Source: SVBJ


Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Inside Samsung's HQ in San Jose

The Wall Street Journal recorded a brief tour of one of San Jose's most unique buildings.The Samsung North American HQ is actually two towers connected by bridges, with tons of open spaces and hanging gardens. At any location in the HQ, you are never more than one floor away from outdoor spaces. The building may look nondescript on the outside, but the tour shows how interesting and well-designed the structure actually is.

As an added bonus, their cafeteria is open to the public so you can go check out the architecture for yourself. You can find the Wall Street Journal video tour.

Source: jawz from the San Jose Development Forum







Monday, December 16, 2019

Modular hotel coming soon to North San Jose

There hasn't been the same level of innovation in construction over the past several decades as other industries such as computers and health care. One of the major innovations that will greatly reduce construction timeliness and bring down costs is modular construction. Most of the project is built off-site in a factory and the pieces are then assembled like Legos on site.

A new Hilton Garden Inn in San Jose is being built in this fashion by stacking 88 modular units on top of a podium near the airport at 101 east Gish Road. The units even came fully furnished. When complete the five-story hotel will have 150 room spread across 95,000 SQFT. The grand opening is currently slated for Spring 2020.

Source: SVBJ



Monday, November 18, 2019

Google expanding in North San Jose

Google is looking into The Assembly campus in North San Jose for possible expansion. They could take somewhere between 800,000 and 900,000 SQFT according to the Business Journal. That should be enough for 4,000 employees or more.

In addition, they have already acquired eight buildings over the past couple years in North San Jose near Alviso. Those investments add up to over $400 million. If there was ever any question on whether Google was serious about investing in San Jose, I think these actions are pretty clear.

Source: SVBJ





Monday, April 29, 2019

Google expanding to North San Jose

Google has a long term vision of building an epic 8 million SQFT campus in Downtown San Jose near Diridon. That project that will probably take a decade to come to fruition. Fortunately, there is another Google project in North San Jose with a much shorter horizon.

Google has just secured leases on three buildings totaling 611,535 SQFT that have yet to be constructed at 60 North Brokaw (near Casino M8trix). Peery-Arrillaga, the developer, has already requested permits to start construction. Two of the buildings would be eight stories tall, while the third is four stories.

The buildings could accommodate up to 4,900 employees, and they could start moving in as early as 2021. That sounds like ages from now, but is less than two years away. Since Mountain View real estate is completely tapped out, this is the first step in a long journey for Google to move the majority of their Silicon Valley operations to San Jose. Without major changes in building policies up north, San Jose is without a doubt Google's future.

Sources: SVBJ, San Jose Inside




Thursday, April 25, 2019

Future Motion opening 60,000 SQFT facility in San Jose

Future Motion makes a one-wheel electric skateboard that is becoming increasingly popular. The self-balancing skateboards retail from $950 to $1,800. I see a bunch of them every time I'm in Downtown San Jose.

While the company is currently headquartered in Santa Cruz, they are opening a new manufacturing outpost in North San Jose at 2250 Zanker Road. Future Motion expects to employ 150 people at the new facility.

For additional information on Future Motion and the industrial market in general, check out the source link below.

Source: SVBJ


Monday, November 19, 2018

Google buys a North San Jose office building for $155M

Google's first campus in San Jose may not be what you expect. Yes, they have been working for ages on a transit-oriented urban campus centered around Diridon Station in Downtown San Jose. That campus will eventually house tens of thousands of employees across a staggering 8 million SQFT of office space. However, one of their first forays into San Jose is going to be a bit more modest than that.

Google has just acquired two office buildings in North San Jose at 4300 and 4400 North First Street. The buildings are just north of Highway 237, which I would consider to be Alviso.

The buildings are partially occupied by Harmonic and Compstak and have recently been renovated. The leases expire in 2020, which is only a little over a year away. Their intentions for the buildings are not yet clear, but this seems like an obvious extension of their Mountain View campus, which is only 8 miles away by car or a 45 minute bike ride away.

Source: SVBJ