City officials cleared the way for a six-story mixed-use building at 653 North 7th Street that will bring 65 residential units together with a dedicated San Jose Taiko performance space. Staff approval arrived on July 8 and locates the project inside San Jose’s historic Japantown, one of only three remaining Japantowns in the United States.
Shea Properties leads the effort, building on its earlier work with the completed Sixth and Jackson apartments just a block away. The plans include roughly 14,100 square feet of commercial space that will house the Taiko performance building along with an office, workshop, and gallery. The site sits next to a proposed public park, extending outdoor green space and seating areas that stay open to the broader neighborhood.
Taiko San Jose has anchored cultural life in Japantown since 1973. The nonprofit keeps traditional Japanese drumming vibrant through original performances and education that crosses cultures and generations. Placing a permanent performance facility on the block gives the art form a stronger home while adding daily activity to the street.
Designers focused on an activated urban edge where housing and arts meet public space. Residents and visitors alike will share the green areas and seating that offer room to pause outside. The combination of homes and cultural facilities is meant to lift the everyday rhythm of the neighborhood.
San Jose keeps finding ways to honor its historic districts while adding the housing and gathering places that keep them alive. This Japantown project threads new residences and performance energy into an already distinctive corner of the city. It would be amazing to see more local projects in the future seamlessly incorporate arts and culture like this.
Source: The Mercury News
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