Google's vision for Diridon takes shape

We are getting closer and closer to the most significant mixed use project in Downtown San Jose history. Last month, the Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG) provided the first public viewing for the initial Diridon Station plan. The key principles for the project are locating jobs and housing near transit, connecting people to nature, creating partnerships, and making sure the San Jose brand is represented.

The numbers being thrown around for this project are surreal. 5.5 million SQFT of new office space followed by another million SQFT on the San Jose Water building site, 3,000-5,000 new housing units, 500,000 SQFT of retail/arts/hotel space, and 15 acres of green spaces.

It will take many years if not decades for this to all come together, but the direction is both promising and exciting.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

San Jose Development Projects

The SJ Economy blog has released a slick interactive map showcasing major development projects in the area. The map was developed along with the City of San Jose's Public Works GIS team.

The number and scope of projects in the pipeline right have to be an all-time high. We're talking tens of millions of SQFT of development. When using the interactive map, don't forget to use the tabs to see ALL of the projects.

Check out the map over here.

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

StarCity's "co-living" tower moves forward

StarCity is working on the largest co-living project in the United States and it just received final city approvals. Co-living is like a dorm for adults. You get a small private space which typically includes a bedroom and bathroom and other facilities like the kitchen, living area, and laundry are shared between multiple residents. Generally co-living facilities are much less expensive than a typical newer apartment.

StarCity would like to build an 18-story tower with 803 co-living units at 199 Bassett Street. The location is is just three blocks away from San Pedro Square.

I would assume this will be on the higher-end of the co-living spectrum. The building will have a 5,000 SQFT gym, chef-style kitchens, bike storage, co-working areas. As an added bonus, there will be retail on the ground-floor that might include a cafe, grocery store, or bar.

If this gets built, it will immediately increase the Downtown population by a significant number and hopefully provide a more affordable living option.

Source: SVBJ

New homes and office space coming to Steven's Creek

Fortbay has just received approval for one of the first San Jose "signature projects" at 4300 Steven's Creek. This is just a few minutes west of Valley Fair and Santana Row and near the border of Cupertino.

The plan is to build 582 residential units, 233,000 SQFT of office space, and a multi-story parking structure. There will be some retail element, but it is not clear from the article how much or where in the project it will be. The new buildings will be between six and eight stories and will wrap around a new 1.4 acre promenade and park.

It's nice to see new mixed use projects being developed outside of Downtown San Jose. The one missing component here is access to public transit, but I have a feeling most of the residents will have a short commute to the Apple campus down the street. We really need to build some sort of mass transit from Downtown all the way to De Anza since this corridor is densifying rapidly.

Source: SVBJ

KT Urban planning a 27-story co-living tower

KT Urban has re-unveiled "Garden Gate" tower, destined for 600 S. First Street which is close to highway 280 in the SoFA part of Downtown San Jose. The 27-story tower will be our second proposal a co-living project--think fancy dorms for adults. Residents would pay slightly lower then average rents (for new construction Downtown) and get a private bedroom adjacent to common areas like living rooms and kitchens.

Generally, buildings like this are filled to the brim with amenities. From the renders below, it even looks like they are even planning a rooftop pool and a penthouse deck/lounge.

As housing prices continue to balloon out of control, we need to think a bit outside the box. Solutions such as co-living will help diversify the housing products available and hopefully bring a little bit more affordability to San Jose. From a development perspective, bringing 1,000 residents to SoFA would be icing on the cake.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose is the hottest housing market in the US

For the second year, Zillow has declared San Jose to be the hottest housing market in the country. High-salary tech jobs are continuing to drive prices and sales sky high. Currently there are 3.9 job openings for every 100 people in San Jose, giving us the highest rate of job openings of all large US metros. Combine that with the highest salaries in the US, and it is no surprise that our real estate market is still blazing hot.

There are some early signs of cooling. Population growth has slowed and inventory is creeping up. However, for now it's a really good time to be a home owner in San Jose based on Zillow's analysis.

Source: SVBJ

750 unit "co-living" project proposed Downtown

You may have heard of co-working, which is multiple companies and entrepreneurs sharing a collective space... but how about co-living? It is exactly what you think it is, dorm rooms for adults.

With rents hitting astronomical levels, we need to start providing some creative options so that more people can afford to live in San Jose. Co-living can triple the number of people that can live in an acre, while proving far more affordable rents.

Starcity wants to build a 750-unit building near Diridon at 199 Bassett Street. The 0.77 acre site would feature a building as tall as 18-stories with private rooms and shared spaces such as living rooms and kitchens. Residents do typically have their own micro-kitchen and restroom.

It's an innovative approach that could help us ramp up supply quickly and drive housing prices and rents down, or at least maintain them where they are today.

Source: SVBJ

Dual-branded hotel and condo coming Downtown

A unique multi-use building is coming to the corner of Clinton Place and Stockton Avenue, which is on the border of Downtown San Jose and The Alameda. The nine-story (97-foot-tall) project would host two different hotel brands, a Courtyard by Marriott and a Residence Inn. Combined they would have 311 hotel rooms and three stories of underground parking.

What is even more interesting than two hotel brands in a single building, is the fact that they are also building 19 market-rate condos on the top floor. This is the first time in Silicon Valley proper that condos are being included as part of a hotel project. Yet even more unusual, these are entry-level hotel brands. Typically you find condos that share hotel facilities in hotels like the Four Seasons, St. Regis, or Ritz Carlton. This goes to show how in-demand housing is in the area.

The hotels and condos are an easy walk to Whole Foods, the SAP Center, and Diridon. When Google builds their headquarters Downtown, these will be the closest rooms to their offices. It's a safe bet that nightly rates will be astronomical throughout the workweek.

If final approval from the city is received within 10 months, the hotels could be ready by 2020.

I'm happy to see more hotel rooms proposed for the area, but the building aesthetics could use some work. We don't want another AC Hotel fiasco (this kind of looks like a prison as well). Each new project should bring additional character to San Jose, and this looks quite generic. At minimum, perhaps they could utilize the giant roof area to build a park/outdoor lounge for guests and residents. The Pierce is a great example of how you can build something without height that is visually appealing and is additive to the neighborhood.

Source: SVBJ

Guest Post - A Crisis Means Opportunity

Below is a thoughtful post by Leslye Corsiglia on affordable housing in Silicon Valley. This is one of the most significant issues San Jose currently faces and I have personally seen a lot of great San Joseans that have contributed to the local community leave town because they could no longer afford to live here. While there is no simple solution, there are several ideas to move the needle in the right direction below.

A Crisis Means Opportunity

Last month, the Mercury News published stories about a burned out house in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood that sold for more than $900,000 and a condemned house in Fremont that fetched $1.2 million. These stories are vivid reminders of the Bay Area’s housing crisis and exemplify the dilemma faced by our residents, where even families earning six figures have trouble finding a decent place to live.

A new study by the California Housing Partnership found that Bay Area residents need to earn more than four times the minimum wage or about $60 an hour to afford Bay Area rents.  And even that might not be enough. Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development classified a family of four earning $105,000 as low income.

But in every crisis there is opportunity, and right now we have two options: (1) allow the housing crisis to fester, turning the Bay Area into a gated community, where only the wealthy can live, or (2) start laying the foundation for economically diverse communities through the development of affordable housing, so that all people have a chance for success.

Option one seems oddly un-American. Option two is closer to what the promise of America represents. So how do we get there?

First, we need a more regional approach to the housing crisis. Luckily, there is no shortage of ideas, and some are already hard at work on the problem. CASA—the Committee to House the Bay Area—is working on regional solutions that would increase residential production, preserve existing housing, and protect current residents facing displacement. CASA will complete its work later this year. Check it out: https://mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/casa-committee-house-bay-area

We need our local communities to step up with solutions. Many are. San Jose has a plan to add 25,000 new homes, including 10,000 that are affordable, in the next five years. Mountain View just approved the North Bayshore Precise Plan, which includes 9,850 new homes. Palo Alto just approved a progressive Housing Work Plan to significantly increase housing production, and, of course, there is the County’s Measure A, which voters approved last year to create more than 5,000 new homes, a significant percentage for homeless families and individuals.

We need help from the state. Our Bay Area Legislative Caucus was instrumental in passing an historic 15-bill housing package last year, which included Senator Bob Wieckowski’s bill to increase accessory dwelling units (granny flats) and Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 35, which is streamlining housing development in cities like Cupertino in exchange for making 50% of the units affordable. But more tools and more money must be forthcoming.

We need the assistance of the private sector. New start-up companies like RAD Urban and Factory OS in Vallejo are using modular construction techniques to reduce the cost of building safe, attractive homes for people of all income levels.  

And we need you. We now have an emerging consensus that the housing crisis is bad for the Bay Area and California, and we need to offer ways for residents to do something about it. This week’s Affordable Housing Week provides that opportunity. The week is designed to educate, inspire, and engage the public about the housing crisis and what we can do about it with 27 different activities. Check it out: bit.ly/svhousingweek2018.

To create opportunity from crisis, we must act locally, community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, person to person.

Leslye Corsiglia is executive director of Silicon Valley at Home.

Two more residential high-rises planned for Downtown

It looks like we are just getting started when it comes to new high-density projects in Silicon Valley. Two developers are now proposing twin 18-story residential buildings called Davidson Plaza Towers on a two acre plot at 255 W. Julian Street, currently the site of the six-story Charles Davidson Building and a parking lot.

The project would have 653 market rate units, 10,000 SQFT of ground floor retail/commercial space, and underground parking for 654 cars. It has not been decided if these would be apartments or condos yet, but the mix would be 125 studios, 282 one-bedrooms units, 211 two-bedroom units, and 35 three-bedroom units. Amenities include a gym, pet play area, and multipurpose room. To continue a very welcome trend for proposed San Jose high-rises, they want to put one of the two swimming pools on the roof.

This would all be across the street from Silvery Towers, two blocks away from the San Pedro Square Market, and one block away from the Highway 87 freeway entrance.

Source: SVBJ

New mixed-use project proposed off Bascom and Southwest Expressway

Bay West Development is proposing a significant residential and office development right next to Bascom Light Rail station. The 6.4-acre project would have 447 residential units and 200,000 SQFT of commercial space. Today the site is a half-empty strip mall and smog testing station. The residential building would be eight stories (respectable density outside of Downtown) while the office building would be seven stories. There would also be an undisclosed amount of retail on the ground floor and a landscaped public space connecting the two buildings.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose's future tallest high-rises broke ground!

MIRO is San Jose's latest luxury housing project. It was originally proposed as a combination of offices and housing across the street from our iconic City Hall with one tower dedicated to offices and another dedicated to residential. The current plan focuses primarily on residential with only 20,000 SQFT of retail and commercial space (the entire project is 1,000,000 SQFT).

Each tower is 28 stories and 298 feet tall, so you are looking at the future #1 and #2 tallest buildings in San Jose. For reference, the San Jose City Hall is 285 feet tall and The 88 (our current tallest building) is 286 feet tall.

The project has a total of 600 units split among one, two, and three bedroom layouts. 16 of those will be extra-fancy penthouses. As far as amenities go, this might be the most impressive residential project in the Bay Area. 50,000 SQFT of indoor and outdoor amenity space is reserved for residents. That includes the standard fitness centers, loungers, pet facilities, and concierge. However, MIRO takes it to the next level with a rooftop pool (!) and rooftop lounges that will provide a spectacular view of Silicon Valley. There is also a spa in the building.

MIRO should be completed in 2020. It is way too early for pricing, but expect these units to set new records for San Jose condos.

Source: The Registry

Swenson reveals spectacular proposal for the Guadalupe River Area

Swenson Builders just blew my mind with their proposal to turn the Downtown stretch of the Guadalupe River into a 6.81 million SQFT mixed-use development. Apparently, Swensen has been contemplating this for decades.

The 30-acre project would incorporate and expand existing parks on both sides of the Guadalupe River and even create a second river (!)... more on that in just a moment. Perhaps take a quick break to scroll down and look at the photos and then head back up here.

The square footage breakdown would be 3.8 million SQFT for office space, 2 million SQFT of residential space (~2,400 units), 420,000 SQFT of retail in a 5-story terraced shopping center, and 590,000 SQFT of hotel space (~1,100 rooms). Bridges would zig-zag over the river(s) to easily get from one side to the other. If there was ever a proposal to rival the San Jose Google HQ, this would be it.

One of the most interesting aspects of the proposal is to create a man-made river parallel to the original Guadalupe River. The purpose of this would be to allow for recreational water activities in Downtown San Jose such as kayaking, surfing, and stand-up boarding. Above the river would also be zip-lines, allowing for a fun adventure combining both a natural and urban backdrop.

Right now this is more vision than a formal proposal, but can you imagine is this is what the Downtown Guadalupe River area looked like 20 years from now? This would be a tremendous amenity and entertainment draw while highlighting one of Downtown's best kept secrets--the river.

Source: SVBJ (Subscription Required)

Volar may set a new bar for rooftop amenities

Volar is a fancy 18-story (200 ft. tall) tower proposed for the Santana Row area. The mixed-use project will have 307 residential units, 52,000 SQFT of commercial, 16,275 SQFT of public open space, and 490 parking spaces. There are several interesting things about this project besides it being far taller than anything else in the area. However, the item that really stands out to me is a rooftop that that will give the Capital Club a run for its money.

The top floor is a mix of 29,814 SQFT of private open space for the residential units and that 16,275 SQFT of public open space that anyone can access. If the render below is accurate, this will be the most impressive rooftop on any high-rise in Silicon Valley. It looks like thee will be lounge areas, outdoor fire-pits, and plenty of trees spread across a posh Santana-Row-like area. The 18th floor will also have a 8,500 SQFT restaurant and cafe with a two-story atrium. The views should be quite spectacular from any part of the rooftop or restaurant. This could be the start of a new era where high-rise housing comes to more parts of San Jose.

For more details on this project that will hopefully break ground by 2019, head over here.

Source: San Jose Development Forum, aphelion2100

East San Jose mixed-use development

The eastside is finally getting some development love. A 10.6-acre property at 641 Capital was sold to a developer earlier this month for $30 million. The land is already entitled for 188 condos, a medical office building, a commercial/retail building, and a mini-storage building. 30 of those units would be "E-homes" or "environmentally friendly homes" and include solar panels and electric car charging stations.

The homes would be 3-story townhomes, probably not the density we would hope for it would be an improvement for the area. Retail would clock in at 10,000 SQFT in a two-story building at the corner of the project and there would also be a 28,000 SQFT medical office building right next to it with an art plaza between them. A four-story 70,000 SQFT storage building would be placed on the opposite end of the project and provide some extra buffer from 680 noise. A one-acre park with a playground, orchard, and community garden would round out the project.

It is nice to see a mixed-use development of this size being planned for East San Jose. Downtown and North San Jose are getting most of the attention right now, but other San Jose districts are going to evolve as well.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required)

BREAKING - Update to Downtown Ross Site High-Rise Proposal

Downtown SJ sure is seeing a lot of action these days! A site development permit has been filed by Alterra Worldwide for the downtown Ross site at 27 S. 1^st Street. The site development permit proposes a 22-story mixed-use residential building with 342 dwelling units and 17,628 square feet of retail on the 0.57-acre site. The development includes a clubhouse, two indoor fitness rooms, an outdoor fitness area, pool and outdoor terrace, and a 3,000 square-foot dog run. Units range in size from studios to two bedrooms, all including an outdoor balcony.

The submittal is an improvement from the preliminary application filed in 2016, although the architecture is very similar in style. The shape is still very boxy, and needs to better differentiate between the middle and top of the building. The top of the building could definitely use some work to contribute to a more distinctive and interesting skyline. Although, I do appreciate the tall ceilings on the first through third floors.

On June 27^th, City Council will vote on an ordinance to allow balconies in the public easement, which means we may see less and less development proposals with box-like shapes as architects will be able to utilize the space above sidewalks for balconies. The current prohibition of balconies in the public easement means that developers and architects have limited space for private open space, leading to buildings like One South Market that are completely flat on all sides. Depending on the applicant’s timeline, they may wish to resubmit new drawings to utilize this new functionality.

For more information, go to www.sjpermits.org and look up File No. H17-027. You may also contact the planner, Elia Sorice, at elia.sorice@sanjoseca.gov.

**Also, sorry for the poor quality photos; they were directly scanned in from the plans.

-Kimberly Vacca

View looking towards N 1st Street from Fountain Alley

View from N 1st Street

Urban Villages are on the way!

On Wednesday, May 10^th, the City’s Planning Commission recommended that City Council approve two Urban Village Plans: the Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village and the Winchester Boulevard Urban Village. These Urban Villages are located on the west side of San José and include developments such as the Westfield Valley Fair mall, Santana Row, and properties along Winchester Boulevard.

The purpose of Urban Village Plans is to guide new job and housing growth within Urban Village areas and to guide the preservation of existing neighborhoods. San José is projected to grow by over 400,000 people by the year 2040; in order to accommodate for this massive growth in population, the City created the Urban Village concept as part of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan update in 2011. In addition to facilitating this growth, Urban Village Plans will guide the characteristics of future development including buildings, parks, plazas, public art, streetscape and circulation. The Winchester Urban Village Plan sets a capacity for 2,000 jobs and 2,200 housing units, and the Santana Row/Valley Fair Urban Village Plan sets a capacity for 8,500 jobs and 2,635 housing units to the year 2040.

These Urban Village Plans are the fruition of over two years of community engagement, of which included online surveys, community workshops, and discussions between City staff, developers and community stakeholders.

City Council will vote on June 27^th to approve or deny these Urban Village Plans. If adopted, residential, commercial, office, and mixed-use development will be able to move forward within the boundaries of the Urban Villages. This area of the city is VERY HOT right now for both office and residential development, so we can expect many development proposals within these areas if the Plans are approved.

Other Urban Village Plans currently under development by the City include the West San Carlos Street Urban Village, the Stevens Creek Boulevard Urban Village, the East Santa Clara Street Urban Village, and the South Bascom Urban Village.

To learn more about Urban Villages, please check out the City’s Urban Village webpage.

Winchester Boulevard Urban Village Land Use Map

Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village Land Use Map

San Jose Downtown Association 2016 Year in Review

The video below is an excellent recap of what has happened in Downtown San Jose this past year, current challenges, and what we have to look forward to in the near future. The speaker is Scott Knies, the Executive Director of the San Jose Downtown Association. While we did not have many new projects move forward in 2016, there are a large number queued up for 2017. Overall it was a great year and I highly recommend watching the video.

Scott Knies Year in review 2016 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Rendering of the Valley Title Towers

KT Properties has been one of the most prolific builders in Downtown San Jose. Axis, One South, and Silvery Towers (under construction) exist thanks to KT. Their newest project is going to be a pair of towers towards the entrance of SoFA at San Carlos and First Street. Currently an ugly two-story building and giant parking lot sit on this lot.

Below is the latest render of the towers. As a point of reference, the five-story building on the lower right is Original Joe's and you would find Anno Domini and Cafe Stritch immediately to the right of the rightmost tower. SJSU is two blocks to the left.

If built, this would be an amazing infill development that would fill a key retail gap in SoFA and add another thousand residents to Downtown's most artsy street.

Source: Bobby_Guz_Man from the San Jose Development Forum