1,472 new homes headed to Seely Avenue in North San Jose

There are only a few empty lots left for development in North San Jose, one one of those is at Montague Expressway and Seely Avenue right along the Coyote Creek. The land currently has farmland and orchards, which somehow have survived over the decades right in the middle of Silicon Valley.

The proposal on the table today would add 1,472 residential units and retail between three developers: Hanover Company, Pacific Companies, and SummerHill Homes. The total project would be a whopping 2.3 million SQFT, with 1.7 million SQFT for housing, half a million SQFT for parking, and 16,120 SQFT for retail. 

Most of the housing would be 1,140 market-rate apartments which would wrap around a new public park. 178 units would be affordable housing and 154 units would be townhomes. Of the apartments, 159 would be studios, 737 are one-bedrooms, 368 are two-bedrooms, and 54 are three-bedrooms. Parking would support 1,967 cars and 944 bicycles.

Construction would last about four years from the initial groundbreaking, for which there is no ETA yet.

Source: SF YIMBY

San Jose's Archer Aviation is partnering with Southwest Airlines to build air taxi network

Archer Aviation is making a number of headlines lately. They just announced plans to build a network of five different air taxi locations across the Bay Area. Now they are announcing a partnership with Southwest Airlines to collaborate on integrating air taxis into California airports.

Southwest is California's largest airline and has operations at 14 different airports across the state. They are the largest operator at San Jose International Airport, which appears to be one of the five air taxi locations that Archer is planning.

The vision is that Southwest customers could do door-to-door trips between places like Napa or Santa Monica that do not have commercial airports within a few hours. You'd go from your Southwest flight to an air taxi that would take you to your destination in 10-15min.

Archer Aviation is headquartered at 190 W. Tasman Drive in North San Jose.

Source: Silicon Valley Business Journal

Yelp ranks a San Jose Indian restaurant as #2 in the United States

Yelp has put out it's very first ranking of the best Indian restaurants in the US, and the second one on the list is none other than Kadhai Kitchen in North San Jose. It actually started out as a food truck and is a small hole in the wall shop that serves a short menu of vegetarian options. 

I ordered almost the entire menu today on Doordash and was really impressed. In fact, I forgot it was vegetarian. Their specialties are pavs, kind of like Indian sliders using homemade buns stuffed with a potato fritter and a variety of sauces. Many people say it's as good as what you can get in Mumbai.

I ordered Pav Bhaji and Ragda Pattice along with Thums Up (an Indian soda similar to Coke that is now ironically owned by Coke). They also had a corn cutlet which is a corn and potato croquette that my wife and I loved. Their eggless date & walnut cake and a mango lassie were a great way to finish the meal. It wasn't expensive or overly spicy, and the flavors were outstanding. I think it's a perfect option for a quick meal or snack and you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. I'm already looking forward to ordering again--or better yet going in person.

Only two Indian restaurants in California made the list, which is surprising to me. Kadhai Kitchen did San Jose proud!

Kadhai Kitchen is located at 2678 Cropley Avenue and is open from 4:30pm to 9pm Tues-Fri and 4pm to 8:30pm on Sat-Sun.

Source: The Mercury News

Microsoft planning massive data center in North San Jose

Microsoft want to build two five-story data centers near the corner of Component Drive and Orchard Parkway in North San Jose. Microsoft originally paid $78.7 million for the land in 2021 and has been sitting on it ever since. With the rise of ChatGPT (which Microsoft has a big stake in), the need for data centers will skyrocket.

Part of the project would also include a water storage tank, pump building with chemical treatments for that water storage, and a new PG&E electrical substation.

The 30+ acre data center project would be right next door to a mixed-use village in North San Jose consisting of offices, hotels, and retail. That project, which is being led by LBA Realty, could clock in at 1.28 million SQFT. Today I also noticed that Apple is leasing some buildings in the area right before you turn onto Highway 87. It could be an interesting area in a few years.

Source: East Bay Times

Six-story office building to be replaced with townhomes

Over 100 homes could replace an office building in North San Jose, but there is a twist. The proposed project at 2107 North First St. would include 105 townhomes right next to the headquarters of PayPal and several other tech companies in the golden triangle of North San Jose. It has easy access to VTA Light Rail and in general is in a prime location.

Ready for the twist? In order to make room for those townhomes, a perfectly good 6-story office building would be torn down. While I understand the need to convert more office space to housing in order to balance supply and demand of each real estate use, this seems like a step backwards. Silicon Valley townhomes are typically three stories and in some rare cases four stories. 

If they are tearing down a whole office building, why not go with high-density housing? This site could easily support high-rises taller than Downtown San Jose. Townhomes do not seem like the best use for this land.

Source: The Mercury News

New renders for affordable housing in Alviso/North San Jose

Next to the Topgolf towards the very north of San Jose are plans for multiple projects. One of the more significant ones involves 780 apartments sitting on top of 16,200 SQFT of retail. The apartments would be split into eight buildings up to seven-stories tall.

The design isn't glamourous, but if it helps keep the prices reasonable I'm all for it. We definitely need more housing in this area which is near the bulk of Silicon Valley tech jobs.  

Source: SF YIMBY

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

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

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

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

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. 

Source: The Mercury News, TheRegistry

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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