The Circle of Palms Lost Its Palms. Downtown Still Owns the Ground.

Contractors cut down all 32 palm trees at the Circle of Palms Plaza on Aug. 20 and finished the job by the next afternoon. The ring sat between the San Jose Museum of Art, Signia by Hilton San Jose and 50 West. City arborists found 15 trees dead or dying and the rest in decline. Some leaned. Lab samples went out to identify the cause. Removal ran about $45,000 and skipped the usual notice period because falling trunks posed an immediate risk.

The palms themselves dated to late-1980s downtown redevelopment. The ground under them is older. California Historical Landmark No. 461 marks the site of the first State Capitol, where the legislature met from 1849 to 1851. A state seal still sits in the pavement. For decades the circle hosted CityDance, holiday lights and Downtown Ice, the outdoor rink that wrapped around those trunks every winter.

Poppy & Claro opened last year on the ground floor of 50 West and built its name around the plaza. Neighbors who work or eat there now look at an open disk of concrete instead of a green ring. District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos asked the city to pause, gather stakeholders and run a real public process before anyone plants the next idea. The San Jose Downtown Association called the empty plaza a chance to rethink what the space should do for people who live, work and visit the core.

That conversation belongs to anyone who has skated there in December, walked through after a museum show or grabbed lunch on the edge of the circle. New trees, different shade, a redesigned floor, or a layout that still holds an ice rink are all on the table once feedback starts. Tordillos hoped that work would begin before the year ends.

Downtown San Jose already proved it can turn a historic capitol site into a living room. The palms are gone. The landmark, the seal and the habit of gathering there remain. Readers who want a say should watch city and Downtown Association channels for the first workshop dates.

Additional information will come from the City of San Jose Transportation Department and the San Jose Downtown Association as the outreach calendar is set.

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal