SoFA will never be the same if these 6 towers get built

Feast your eyes on two projects consisting of three towers each in Downtown San Jose's artsy SoFA district. I love how these proposals continue to get more and more impressive with natural elements and rooftop amenities.

The first five renders below are a joint residential venture between Urban Community and Terrascape Ventures with 386 units. Two towers would be around 420 S. 2nd Street and clock in at 12 and 22 stories plus 8,000 SQFT of retail in a public plaza between the buildings. This is where the Dai-Thanh Supermarket and Dakao Sandwich shop currently stand. A third 20-story would rise on 420 S. 3rd St. and replace an old apartment complex. At least two towers would have an outdoor rooftop deck and lounge with trees and plants. The entire project would be built using mass timber and cross-laminated timber and operate with net-zero carbon emissions.

The next five renders are Westbank's "The Orchard" mixed-use project at the very entrance of SoFA from San Salvador Street. The towers looks great, but the ground-floor retail looks phenomenal! Currently, most of this proposal covers what today is a giant outdoor parking lot.

If just one of these projects moves forward, it will transform the area. If both make it, it'll be a revelation. It would triple the amount of foot traffic on most days and likely turn SoFA into an even more thriving area than San Pedro Square or the Historic District.

Sources: SVBJ, Aphelion2100 from the SJ Development Forum

Unique office and housing tower could transform Downtown skyline

The word iconic gets thrown out a lot, but there is a proposal at 35 S. Second St. whose design would truly be iconic for the Downtown San Jose skyline. "Energy Hub" is a curvy office and residential tower that features multiple cutouts for trees and plants--not to mention a full living roof. Have a look at the second and third renders below to see how this concept looks in the context of other Downtown buildings. The change would be pretty dramatic.

The tower is actually two connected buildings that rise 21 floors. Retail and restaurants wrap around the ground floor, followed by residential space across 10 floors (194 units total), and topped with 314,000 SQFT of office space. There is also an atrium-like urban room on the ground floor accessible to the public. 

The roof is essentially a giant park with amenities for both residents and office workers. There are trees, hills, lounge areas, places to picnic, and even an full-blown running track. It has to be one of the most unique amenities proposed for the roof of any Downtown building (hopefully there is a pool or lake up there as well).

This proposal goes to show you don't have to have height in order to make a project stand out and change the entire landscape of an urban neighborhood.

Source: The Merc

Urban Catalyst announces Fund II

Urban Catalyst, one of Downtown San Jose's premier developers, has officially started fundraising for their second round of projects. 

Fund I included multiple projects spanning office space (such as the former Camera 12 Theater), student housing, senior housing, and a hotel. Fund I was so successful it was actually oversubscribed in terms of investment. Their goal was to raise $105 million and they closed funding with $131 million on December 30th of last year.

Fund II involves two large projects, Icon and Echo. One is a residential high-rise with 300 apartments while the other consists of modern office space with large floor plates adding up to 420,000 SQFT. Both will be steps from City Hall and one of our future BART stations. They seem to be around 20 stories and likely reach the maximum height legally allowed.

If you would like to invest in Fund II, you might have to reach deep in your pockets since the minimum investment is $250,000. At least Fund II doesn't close until the end of 2024, giving you some extra time to look under the couch cushions. Construction on the projects is expected to begin in 2022, even before funding officially closes.

For more information and some renders, check out the short video below. If you have your checkbook handy, you can click here.

29-story "BoTown" tower proposed

The space formerly occupied by the BoTown restaurant on 2nd Street in Downtown San Jose could become a luxurious residential hi-rise building. The proposal floating around suggests a 29-story tower with 520 residential units. 85% of the units would be one bedroom or one bed+den (535 to 737SQFT), 15% would be two bedroom units (944-1,106 SQFT).

As for amenities, it doesn't get much better than a rooftop infinity pool--something that I think should be in consideration for just about every new residential hi-rise project. Next to the pool on the penthouse floor would be a gym and party room. Other amenities include a library/lounge, and billiards room. There will also be retail space on the ground floor and a leasing office on the second floor.

There is still no ETA for construction.

Source: SVBJ

Latest Miro Towers photos

Gillynova from the San Jose Development Forum has posted a few photos of Miro, which will feature San Jose's two tallest towers when construction is complete across from City Hall sometime next year. The project appears to be coming along nicely despite all of the COVID restrictions.

MIRO Towers being topped off

Below is a brief video from the top of MIRO, San Jose's future tallest set of buildings. The towers are currently at maximum height (just under 300 feet) and they should be ready for leasing some time next year. The views look quite stunning from up there.

Source: aphelion2100 from the San Jose Development Forum

17 East Santa Clara Street

We have our first render of a residential tower at 17 East Santa Clara Street. This is the infamous site of an adult book store that burnt down between 1st and 2nd Street.

When a developer first announced they would like to build a high-rise here, there was quite a lot of speculation on what could actually be built on such a small and narrow space less than 9,000 SQFT. However, I have to say this initial design looks fantastic and is a welcome change from the super wide towers that are in the works. The narrow side creates an optical illusion where it looks 40 stories tall instead of 28.

The tower is going to have 96 residential units, with 17 of those restricted for moderate-income residents. It's not clear whether the units will be for sale or rent. Unfortunately it does not appear to feature any retail on the ground floor, but with such a small lot that is to be expected.

I hope we see other towers with this type of narrow aesthetic going forward to add more variety Downtown.

Source: Lawrence Lui on Twitter

San Jose 2030 Halfway Point Video

David Manzo from San Jose 2030 has been chronicling Downtown San Jose development since 2010 and plans on releasing a 20-year-long video time lapse in 2030. We're now halfway through the project and he release a promo video below. Check out more videos and comments at the San Jose 2030 Facebook page over here!

Miro Tower Photos

Fortunately not all major construction projects are stalled due to the Coronavirus. Miro continues to make great progress in Downtown San Jose and both towers are almost at full height (nearly 30 stories). Below are a couple photos taken from SJSU by gillynova.

Despite everything our skyline is evolving and there is still much excitement around Downtown San Jose in the developer community.

Source: gillynova from the San Jose Development Forum

31-story tower proposed in SoFA

A developer is seeking to build a 358-unit residential tower in Downtown San Jose's artsy SoFA District with a unique twist... the entire tower would be affordable housing. This would be one of the largest affordable housing projects in the Bay Area and would add a significant amount of food traffic Downtown.

The tower would have 190 studio units, 84 one-bedrooms, 28 two-bedrooms, and 56 three-bedroom unites. There would also be a three-story parking structure with 96 parking spaces. That is a surprising number of both studios and three-bedroom units, which are the two unit types that are in shortest supply for residential high-rises Downtown.

It is also worth mentioning that this would be the largest number of stories for any building in San Jose, either built or proposed. Even with low ceilings typical of affordable housing projects, this would likely be the first building in San Jose over 300 feet tall. It will be interesting to see what other details will be uncovered as this project moves forward.

Source: SVBJ

Two massive 20-story towers proposed Downtown

KT Urban has submitted plans for Woz Way Offices, another epic office project in Downtown San Jose. It consists of a whopping 1.8 million SQFT split between two towers at 280 Woz Way. One of them is a giant wall similar to Adobe's 4th tower and looks like multiple high-rises combined together.

The project architect and designer stated that the only place in Silicon Valley where a tech company can physically scale their business and have access to transit is San Jose. Hopefully the momentum can survive the current crisis as it appears that developers are finally coming around to seeing Downtown's potential.

The project would also feature an impressive 30,000 SQFT of outdoor terraces across four floors, and 6,000 SQFT of retail (a bit light for a project this size). Parking will consist of four-levels both above and below ground, enough to handle 1,215 cars.

If all goes well, the project could break ground as early as 2021.

Source: SVBJ

Garden Gate Tower plans purchased by British developer

Scape, a London-based developer specializing in student housing, has purchased the plans for Garden Gate Tower at the tail end of the SoFA District in Downtown San Jose. The current design calls for a shiny 27-story tower with an impressive penthouse amenity floor as you can see below.

Gardent Gate Tower was slated to have 290 condos and 4,840 SQFT of retail space. However, it is possible that Scape will try to convert this into a co-living or student housing building given that is their expertise. If they make the change, they would be in good company. The Graduate already starting taking tenants and KT Urban is planning an 850-bedroom co-living tower nearby.

Source: SVBJ

Downtown San Jose's epic development roadmap

I've been following Downtown San Jose development for the last 21 years, and I have never seen so many impressive projects in the pipeline--not even in the peak of the .com bubble in 1999 and 2000.

The Silicon Valley Business Journal has put together a list of the top 20 projects that are currently in the pipeline. Several are in the million+ SQFT category, which is equivalent to three or four typical high rise buildings. Even if half of these come to fruition, Downtown San Jose will never look the same.

As an added bonus, below is a recording of the "Future of San Jose" event, where you can hear several San Jose leaders share their thoughts on where San Jose is going.

Source: SVBJ

Museum Place tower moves forward

A 20-story mixed-use tower next to the Tech Interactive museum has been unanimously approved. "Museum Place" will replace Parkside Hall behind the Tech with 928,000 SQFT of new office space, 8,400 SQFT of retail, and a 60,000 SQFT expansion of the museum.

This was originally going to be a hotel and residential tower, but given the state of the market the project was converted to commercial users instead. As San Jose is the only large city in the country whose daytime population decreases, this seems like a fair change to help correct our jobs/housing imbalance (San Jose needs more jobs, other Silicon Valley cities need to step up for housing).

If all goes well, Museum Place will break ground in 2020.

Source: SVBJ

Lew Wolff helps move along a 19-story hotel project

Lew Wolff, one of the key developers responsible for the Fairmont San Jose, is now in talks to purchase a 19-story hotel project next to the Hotel DeAnza. The deal is expected to close in September and would bring the project much closer to becoming a reality.

This would likely be a trendy brand catering to young professionals that do not want to rent cars (there will be no on-site parking). It also features some really nice amenities like a rooftop restaurant and bar.

San Jose is in desperate need of more hotel rooms to support local companies and events. New hotel projects like this and the cantilevered Tribute Hotel can't come soon enough.

Source: SVBJ

The Icon

A Chevron gas station near City Hall is going to be transformed into a 20-story residential tower with up to 250 market-rate units called the Icon. Urban Catalyst just revealed the render below last week. The sleek tower features multiple balconies and 7,500 SQFT of retail on the ground floor.

This appears to be just one of 10 project Urban Catalyst is planning for Downtown San Jose. A hotel, senior living residence, student housing building, co-living development, and an office building are also in the works. It total, they are planning to add $1 billion in value to San Jose's core.

The source article includes an interview with Joshua Burroughs and it is well worth a read if you are a Silicon Valley Business Journal Subscriber.

Source: SVBJ

Block 2

If you liked yesterday's unique Market Street Towers renders, Sobrato has another flagship project right around the corner that we'll call "Block 2" until an official name is released. It is located on East San Fernando St. between S 1st St. and S 2nd St.

The project looks like several stacked glass Tetris pieces with multiple sky gardens between them. This would be one of the most interesting and unique buildings Downtown if it gets built.

The schematic shows new ground floor retail, which like Market Street Towers would fill a critical gap or deadzone Downtown. Currently the only thing on this piece of land is a surface parking lot.

Above the retail and lobby would be four floors of parking and 12 floors of offices. Each floor appears to have two sky gardens, which are four-story cutouts from the main building shell. Impressive!

Source: Market Street Towers

Market Street Towers

Sobrato has just release some new renders for their Market Street Towers project. The building design is iconic. I can't say that I have seen anything like this anywhere else. While it looks like four separate towers, it is actually a single 584,658 SQFT office building with floor plates as large as 51,605 SQFT.

The ground floor will have 16,372 SQFT of new retail, which fills a dead zone between the Paseo between the Fairmont buildings and San Carlos Street. Currently this is just a surface parking lot. Speaking of parking, there will be 683 parking spaces and 152 bicycle stalls, something that will also come in handy on the weekends when the offices are closed.

My favorite part of the project is the roof, which features not one but two sky gardens with over 25,000 SQFT of combined space. The views should be incredible as you can see from the 2nd and 3rd images below.

To see more photos and 360 degree views, head over to the Market Street Towers marketing site. Tomorrow we'll post renders for another Sobrato project in the area.