Showing posts with label san jose retail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label san jose retail. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Vince and Barry's Bootcamp are now open in Santana Row

Vince is a luxury clothing and accessory store located in a 2,378 SQFT space next to the newly-expanded lululemon. They are known for a modern, timeless aesthetic. This is one of only three Vince locations within 100 miles, the other two are in Palo Alto and San Francisco.

On the other side of the Row we have Barry's Bootcamp in a 4,500 SQFT space below Splunk. The gym features intense cardio and strength training interval workouts. Members burn up to 1,000 calories per class. You'll find 21 treadmills, full-service locker rooms with private shower, and premium snacks. This is the fourth Barry's Bootcamp in the Bay Area.

Both are now open, with Meso Modern Mediterranean and Blue Bottle Coffee opening next.




Wednesday, August 14, 2019

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


Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Taylor Street Night Market

Every Thursday night during the summer, the Taylor Street Night Market will take place at the Gordon Biersch Brewery in Japantown from 5-9pm. The event includes food trucks, a beer garden, music, and shopping. For more info, head over to the event Facebook page over here.


Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Apple is building a flagship two-story store in San Jose

San Jose is finally getting an Apple store worthy of being in Silicon Valley! As part of Westfield's $1.1 billion expansion, Apple will move to a two-story location facing the new Santana Row-style outdoor dining district. In the image below I marked where I think it could go. Based on the description it could be anywhere on the walkway closest to Stevens Creek Boulevard and it will feature both indoor and outdoor areas.

Westfield is calling this out as an "anchor" tenant for their expansion which will have over 150 new retail stores, multiple new restaurants, and a Bloomingdale's department store. Apple tends to pull out all the stops for their flagship locations and I can't see what they come up with for San Jose.

Source: SVBJ


Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Tea Collection announces first brick-and-mortar location at Santana Row

Santana Row has scored another exclusive retailer. Tea Collection already has a strong online presence as well as partnerships through boutiques and Nordstrom department stores, yet they decided to open their very first physical store on the row. See the press release below for all of the details.


Globally-Inspired Kids Fashion Brand Announces First Brick and Mortar Location at Santana Row

Tea Collection, the high-quality children’s clothing brand inspired by the beauty of global cultures, is pleased to announce its first brick-and-mortar location at Santana Row in San Jose, California. The Tea-Collection-dedicated retail location opened its doors to little citizens of the world and families alike on August 22.

The Tea Collection store will be a first-of-its-kind shopping experience for the brand, and is designed to further connection between Tea Collection's loyal customer base and its boutique partners. Driven by curiosity, the Tea Collection store will serve as a living classroom to play with new ideas and products, and a chance for the brand to engage one on one with families.

“We see our Santana Row location as a way to spread the love in San Jose. We have many customers there, but not a strong boutique presence. Having our own space provides us an opportunity to meet existing ecommerce customers who don’t have a nearby Tea retailer,” says Emily Meyer, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Tea Collection. “We have been so impressed with Santana Row and how they have created a destination and community that draws people in to spend time.”

Santana Row is Silicon Valley's premier destination for shopping, dining and living. The Tea Collection store will serve as the area's exclusive brick-and-mortar provider of Tea Collection goods.

“Opening a Tea Collection shop is a natural evolution for our brand and will make us a better partner with the hundreds of retailers who carry Tea already,” said Leigh Rawdon, Co-Founder and CEO of Tea Collection. “We hope that the announcement will demonstrate to our retail partners that we are committed to being a great brand at retail, and that what we learn in Santana Row will be translated into their stores.”

Tea Collection will be open seven days a week during regular mall operating hours. All are invited to visit Tea Collection at Santana Row, 377 Santana Row, San Jose, California 95128.

For more information, please visit www.TeaCollection.com.

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About Tea Collection
Based in San Francisco, California, Tea Collection makes children's apparel and accessories for ages 0-16 inspired by global travel and the world’s natural beauty. Believing that all cultures deserve to be celebrated, twice a year Tea Collection designers explore a new region of the world and transform their discoveries into a collection of high-quality, modern clothing for children, making the foreign more familiar. Tea Collection clothing is available online, in over 250 boutiques across the U.S. and exclusive Nordstrom locations. For additional information, please visitwww.TeaCollection.com or follow our adventures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

About Santana Row
Offering 1.7 million square feet of retail, office, hotel and residential, Santana Row is located in San Jose, California; the hub for high-tech innovation and development. Featuring 615 luxury rental homes, 219 privately owned condos, 376,000 square feet of office space, over 50 shops, 30 restaurants, a boutique hotel and a movie theatre. Santana Row is a property of www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.santanarow.com.


Friday, May 18, 2018

MOMENT at San Pedro Squared opens today!

One of the most exciting retail improvements to Downtown San Jose in years is launching today. San Pedro Squared is a Knight Foundation-funded project that adds four micro-retail spaces on the ground floor of the San Pedro Square garage. San Pedro is arguably the most lively street Downtown right now, but has always been held back by only having restaurants, bars, and the occasional shop on one side of the street due to the massive parking structure. 12 parking spaces have been converted into four 400 SQFT businesses for local entrepreneurs.

It gets better. The four businesses are all women-owned ventures with strong ties to San Jose offering unique and innovative products. You can see the descriptions of each below along with links to their websites.

San Pedro Squared is having their grand opening today at 11am. Please patronize our new local businesses--this is the type of grassroots project that adds character to Downtown!

Innovative retail destination reinvented in Market-San Pedro Garage, continuing people-first development efforts in downtown San Jose

SAN JOSE (April 30, 2018) – With the conversion of parking into micro-retail shops at the Market-San Pedro Garage completed, four locally owned retailers will be part of the new destination’s grand opening May 18.

The shops collectively will be known as MOMENT at San Pedro Squared.
MOMENT exercises a new approach to retail that allows temporary shops to coalesce with traditional brick-and-mortar experiences.

We want MOMENT to serve as a platform for small businesses to make the leap from part-time to full-time,” said Kevin Biggers, chief strategist for San Jose Made, which is curating the vendors and managing the spaces for San Jose Downtown Association.

The conversion of parking spaces into retail shops was called San Pedro Squared because it adds activation and street life to the garage side of San Pedro Street on one of downtown’s most popular blocks.

The SJDA proposal to turn 12 parking spots on the San Pedro Square side of the garage into four 400-square-foot business spaces was a winner of the 2015 Knight Cities Challenge, an initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that seeks to make the cities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work.

“The parking garage has been transformed into a vibrant venue that promises to bring new life to the community and serve as a destination for residents of all kinds to meet and connect,” said Danny Harris, Knight Foundation program director for San Jose. “The new MOMENT retail stores are a great example of people-first development, aiming to address resident needs and advance the economic vitality of the neighborhood.”

The Knight Foundation, along with the Downtown San Jose Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) and City of San Jose – owners of the garage – funded the project, including a new parklet that extends along the sidewalk into a seating and social area in front of the shops.  The parklet replaced five street parking spaces.

“With MOMENT, the entire block of San Pedro between St. John and Santa Clara streets becomes more active at the perfect time when new residential developments around the square near completion,” said Chuck Hammers, PBID president.

The initial roster of MOMENT tenants includes four women-owned businesses:
  • Bobo Design Studio:  Angie Chua has created a lifestyle wanderlust brand featuring brilliant designs crafted on everything from pins and patches to bags and graphic apparel, handcrafted and made in California.  bobodesignstudio.com
  • Fractal Flora:  Through Fractal Flora, Yuri Lee and Sarah Lim have a mission to reconnect people to nature, be it through their wonderful curation and care for the plants and flowers they sell or their popular DIY terrarium workshops. fractalflora.com
  • Blooms Privé:  Sarah Coronado and Marie Coronado of Blooms Privé have created the next evolution of women’s underwear (patent-approved), prioritizing an empowering and inventive design for women anywhere. bloomsprive.com
  • Sea Senorita Studios:  For Sea Senorita Studios, Sofia Arredondo uses her incredible artwork to power a diverse range of products, featuring everything from paper goods to T-shirts to accessories.  seasenoritastudios.tumblr.com/
For small business owners like myself, MOMENT provides an opportunity for us to get back into our community, engage with our customers and build a presence that is increasingly more difficult to do online,” said Angie Chua of Bobo Design Studio, a San Jose native who quit her job in a tech-based startup to pursue her dreams as a creative business owner.

San Pedro Squared was designed by Gensler and Eaton Hall Architecture, and built by TICO Construction.  The project’s evolution has been documented atsanpedrosquaredsj.com.

This project achieves a number of collective community objectives – incubating local talent, transforming the public realm and creating a cluster of destination retail in our city center,” said Blage Zelalich, downtown manager in the city’s Office of Economic Development.  “We’re confident that MOMENT is going to be great for San Pedro Square and downtown San Jose.”

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About PBID
Established in August 2007 and managed by the San Jose Downtown Association, the Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) provides cleaning and tree-trimming services, beautification and street life projects, downtown ambassadors and secondary police enforcement units, and business development assistance. http://sjdowntown.com
About MOMENT
MOMENT is a set of four dynamic micro-retail spaces designed and programmed to advance, grow and celebrate creative retail. Powered by San Jose Made, MOMENT embodies the urgency, immediacy and verve of today’s new retail and creative culture, featuring makers, creatives, artists and emerging brands for varying short-to-mid-length durations. The first four shopkeepers will occupy the spaces through August 2018.  Visit  moment-sj.com

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit http://knightfoundation.org.

About the San José Department of Transportation
The San José Department of Transportation (DOT) plans, develops, operates, and maintains transportation facilities, services, and related systems that contribute to the livability and economic health of the city. Our goal is to provide a transportation system that is safe, efficient, and convenient for all modes of transportation, and which supports San José’s livability and economic vitality.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Eastridge remodel is complete

Last week Eastridge unveiled their latest refresh. This was my neighborhood mall back in the day and I'm glad to see it's still alive and well unlike some other malls in the area (Vallco, Sunnyvale Town Center, etc.).

The $15 million renovation adds grassy lawns with play areas, a new food court, upgraded finishes, beautiful murals celebrating San Jose, and new programming to make the mall more of a destination. New events include food struck popups, a weekly art experience, and even a dog-friendly social events called "Yappy Hour Forth Fridays."

They also have a few new stores like a 8,400 SQFT Toni & Guy salon, H&M, and an eatery called Trifecta Cooks which landed a free retail space by wining a cooking contest.

For more info and a full event list, head over to the Eastridge FB page.

Source: SJ Economy Blog





Tuesday, March 20, 2018

BALDWIN opened their first Bay Area store at Santana Row

San Jose has scored another exclusive retail launch. BALDWIN is a boutique clothing retailer featuring premium American-made denim. The Kansas City-based label was lauded by both GQ Magazine and Vogue. Their first location in Northern California just opened last week at Santana Row.

To celebrate, BALDWIN is hosting a grand opening celebration from March 22-25. Visitors will receive a complimentary tote bag and 20% off a purchase of $200 or more.

For more about BALDWIN, check out their website over here.



Thursday, March 15, 2018

San Jose's Vietnam Town getting major upgrades

Vietnam Town is a 20-acre commercial and retail development near Happy Hollow and Kelly Park. The project has had ups and downs including multiple sales and bankruptcies, but it does feature several great shops, Vietnamese restaurants, and cafes.

The next phase for Vietnam Town is called District One, a 100,000+ SQFT project with dozens of retail condos (store owners will buy part of the building as opposed to leasing) and another parking garage. The new development is inspired by Santana Row and will feature entertainment/programming centered around Asian holidays and celebrations. Instead of just more shopping and restaurants, the focus will be on creating a lively atmosphere.

The Vietnam Town owner is working on final city approvals and hopes to open District One by 2019.

Source: SVBJ


Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Shop San Jose

If you are still doing some last minute shopping and you are trying to decide which brand to go with, why not prioritize companies that are based in San Jose. A few years ago we started putting together a list of companies headquarterd in San Jose that provide consumer goods and services. If you have any to add, just post in the comments!

To access the spreadsheet, click here.


Monday, October 16, 2017

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)


Monday, April 24, 2017

First Amazon Books in Northern California is coming to San Jose

In the ultimate irony, Amazon is now opening up physical bookstores. Yes, the same Amazon that took down pretty much all brick-and-mortar bookstores in the US.

The first Amazon Books anywhere in Northern California is coming to Santana Row, one block away from where a two-story flagship Borders once existed. The Amazon store will be about 5,500 SQFT and prices will be exactly the same as the website if you are a Prime member. Amazon is even planning to somehow incorporate user reviews in the physical store.

Amazon Books will be located at 333 Santana Row, Suite 2. It will also be joined by a second Silicon Valley Northern Californian location in Walnut Creek later this year.

Source: SVBJ, hat tip to Corin for sending this in!

Update: As pointed out in the comments, Walnut Creek is not in Silicon Valley


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Uncle Buck's Fish Bowl & Grill @ San Jose Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops has to be one of the most insane retail stores I have ever seen. The giant diorama-filled 145,000 SQFT space has everything from an aquarium to a 12-lane bowling alley. The building is larger than most Costco's and it attracts shoppers that live as far as two hours away. I have to recommend that everyone check out the store at least once, even if you are not the outdoorsy type.

Over the weekend, I was invited to try out the new menu at Uncle Bucks, a full-service restaurant within the store. The restaurant is nestled to the side of the bowling alley and has several rooms of various sizes for private parties and events. There can easily be over a one hour wait for the restaurant, so it would be a good idea to put your name on the list first before you head out to explore the store.

For lunch, we had the following:
  • Alligator with jalapeno cream sauce - This is one of their signature items and is a must try. The spiced fried alligator does not taste as exotic as it sounds and goes really well with the sweet sauce.
  • Smoked Wahoo dip - This was my wife's favorite. It's a smoked Wahoo pate with crackers and cucumber slices.
  • Islamorada Portofino - Another signature item. Blackened Tilapia topped with grilled shimp and lobster cream sauce. The fish was both flavorful and filling.
  • Firepit Burger - My personal favorite. This is a double cheeseburger with jalapenos and pepperjack. It came with crispy battered fries.

We were so stuffed from those items, we couldn't handle a dessert. The Key Lime pie was tempting though. For the full menu, click here.

The restaurant is extremely kid-friendly and features Disneyland-grade nautical decorations. For adults, there is a bar sitting underneath the bow of a ship in the middle of the bowling alley. Scroll down for all the photos. For more information, head over to the Uncle Buck's Fish Bowl & Grill Facebook page.

Bass Pro Shops and Uncle Bucks is located at 5160 Cherry Avenue. The store is open from 9am-9pm Monday through Saturday and 9am-8pm on Sunday. Hours are extended during the holidays.







Alligator with jalapeno cream sauce

Smoked Wahoo dip

Islamorada Portofino

Firepit Burger




Sunday, August 7, 2016

Gree opening commercial flagship store in san jose

Gree Electric is the largest air conditioning firm in the world. With the opening of their flagship store in San Jose, it will mark the very first time that Gree's commercial products will be available in California. While these are not the types of products you and I would buy for our homes, it will benefit Silicon Valley businesses that are looking to reduce HVAC costs and be more "green."





San Jose, CA -- Gree, the world's largest air conditioning manufacturer and a leading Chinese manufacturer of innovative, green, heating and cooling solutions is opening its first showroom for commercial products in California on August 9, 2016. The grand opening reception is scheduled for 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM on Tuesday at ECS Design, Inc. 502 Auzerais Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126. A special ribbon cutting and ceremonial lion dance will take place at 10:00 AM.

ECS Design has been a general contractor and HVAC specialist in San Jose for more than a decade and a strong advocate for green building construction for sustainable growth. According to Richard Wong, President of ECS, "the significance of Gree coming to San Jose is about green energy movement in the US. They are a leader in VRF* air conditioning systems which are emerging in importance everywhere around the world. It is time that we employ these energy-saving systems in the US.”

ECS Design (ecsdesign.net) will serve a role in training for commercial installation of Gree systems and expanding awareness of the company in California. Wong explains "We hope to begin installing Gree commercial systems and will be looking at larger distribution warehouses as we ramp up."

For more information contact ecs@ecsdesign.net.

About Gree
Gree (www.global.gree.com) is a multinational electric company focused on heating and air conditioning in the international market. In China it also manufactures electric appliances. It has a long history of supporting the Chinese government push toward a cleaner environment and green technology solutions. It had sales of (US) $22.9 billion in 2015. Gree is one of the largest female-led companies, operating under the leadership of President Dong Mingzhu since 2001. (http://www.makers.com/china/dong-mingzhu).

* Variable refrigerant flow is an HVAC technology that was invented in Japan by Daikin company in 1982. It uses refrigerant as both the cooling and heating medium and has gained popularity in many parts of the world, but has been slower to catch on in the US.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Hicklebees Children's Bookstore hosts a summer reading road trip celebration

San Jose, CA (Press Release) - In an effort to get kids reading this summer, the Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip RV will visit Hicklebees Children's Books on June 26th from 12:00-2:00pm. Kids and families will have the opportunity to participate in their very own “pop-up” reading festival, meet some of their favorite authors, and engage in fun reading activities. The RVs will visit 20 U.S. cities nationwide throughout the summer, traveling more than 10,000 miles to spread the message about the importance of summer reading to kids.

At the Hicklebee's Children's Books reading road trip stop kids and families will enjoy a fun day of free reading activities including:

  • An author visit and book signing from
    • Susan Katz , author of ABC School's for Me!
    • Mike Jung, author of Unidentified Suburban Object
    • David Carter, author of Spot the Dot
  • An activity tent filled with reading activities
  • Giveaway tables and a prize wheel
  • Animated photo stations with Clifford the Big Red Dog® and Slappy from Goosebumps®
  • "Instaframes” picture stations for kids to show-off their “reading muscles”
  • Costume characters including: Clifford the Big Red Dog®

WHERE: Hicklebees Children's Books, 1378 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA 95125

WHEN:  June 25th

TIME: 11:00 - 1:00pm

To track the RVs and find local events, visit the tour schedule here: http://scholastic.com/summerroadtrip. Follow the Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip live on social media via @Scholastic and #SummerReading.


Wednesday, June 8, 2016

SJ Economy: Indie coffee houses perk up Downtown

There is a blog post about the proliferation of indie coffee in Downtown San Jose over at the SJ Economy blog. I just started getting into coffee recently, and it is pretty amazing to see us go from mostly Starbucks and other chains a few years ago to a very diverse collection of outstanding coffee houses today. This list is growing longer and longer: Voltaire, Ola's, Vero's, Social Policy, Kartma, B2, Cafe Frascatti, Devine Grinde, iJava, Bel Bacio, Chromatic (coming soon), et cetera. Anyway, check out Tina Kapoor's post over here.


Sunday, May 22, 2016

CorePower Yoga Expands Presence in San Jose




(Denver, CO) May 5, 2016 – America’s leading yoga brand CorePower Yoga is pleased to announce a new studio opening in North San Jose, located at 55 River Oaks Place, Suite #10. CorePower Yoga roots an intensely physical workout in the mindfulness of yoga, helping students to change their bodies as well as their lives. Studio manager Jane Shim will officially open doors to the brand’s third location next month.

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in San Jose,” said Tess Roering, chief marketing officer at CorePower Yoga. “The San Jose community has really embraced our classes, and with a third studio we’ll be able to share the physical and mental benefits of this practice with more people.”

Each CorePower Yoga class is designed to work every muscle and every emotion, creating a unique all-inclusive fitness experience. Offerings range from restorative classes to physically demanding, muscle-sculpting classes. In addition to the daily class schedule, CorePower Yoga offers a renowned Yoga Teacher Training program, along with special programs including boot camps, retreats and wellness cleanses.

Designed with green building practices in mind, using recycled products and sustainable materials, the new San Jose studio will mirror all others by employing the latest technology to efficiently heat the practice rooms. Class attendees will have access to spa-like amenities including spacious changing rooms with showers and private lockers, and a full retail boutique showcasing a stylish selection of men’s and women’s activewear and accessories.

San Jose community members are encouraged to take advantage of the studio’s limited-time founding rate on Black Tag Memberships. People who sign up prior to the studio opening will receive 25% off unlimited yoga. Black Tag Membership perks include unlimited classes and 20% off programs and teacher trainings. Black Tag Memberships following the grand opening will start at $155 per month. For more information, or to find out how to secure the founding rate, please visit http://corepoweryoga.com.

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About CorePower Yoga:

CorePower Yoga strives to show the world the incredible, life-changing things that happen when an intensely physical workout is rooted in the mindfulness of yoga. Through a variety of yoga classes, convenient times and more than 150 studio locations, CorePower Yoga provides a highly intense and incredibly mindful form of fitness.

CorePower Yoga classes are taught by passionate and encouraging certified yoga instructors who take a typical yoga practice and crank it up to 11. In addition to yoga classes, CorePower Yoga offers transformative Yoga Teacher Training programs to empower students to advance their individual practice or become instructors. The beautiful, spa-like studios are built with green practices in mind and operate to meet the highest standards of service and quality. For more information, visit corepoweryoga.com.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Sprouts@Brokaw updates

North San Jose is going to get a much-needed 145,000 SQFT retail center at the corner of East Brokaw and Oakland. Last month we found out that two of the anchor tenants would be Sprouts Farmers Market and Ross (in fact they are calling the project Sprouts@Brokaw). It looks like they have now pretty much leased the whole project. Here is the full list of tenants so far:

  • Anchors
    • Sprouts Farmers Market
    • Ross
    • Homegoods
    • ULTA
  • Retail/Amenity
    • Sleep Train
    • Wells Fargo
    • Banfield Pet Hospital
    • The Joint Chiropractic
  • Restaurants
    • The Asian Box (second location South of Mountain View)
    • Yalla Mediterranean (first in the South Bay)
    • Poke Love 
    • The Habit Burger Grill
    • MOD Pizza
    • Rubio's
    • Jersey Mike's

I have to say that I'm pretty surprised at the restaurant options so far--in a good way. Three on the list will be the first location for that restaurant in San Jose. Even though they are all fast-casual, it is a terrific food lineup for the location. Across the street you also have Koja Kitchen, which is the only brick-and-mortar location in Silicon Valley for what has to be one of the best food trucks in the Bay Area. I feel like in general San Joseans are demanding more unique and higher-quality food options, and that is definitely a great thing.

Source: SVBJ



Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Sprouts and Ross will anchor a new North San Jose retail center

The San Jose area in most need of extra retail options and grocers would be in the north. Not only is that where most of are jobs are, but housing has exploded in North San Jose over that past decade. Fortunately, a new retail center called Brokaw Plaza is being built at the corner of Brokaw and Oakland Road and they announced two of their anchor stores earlier this month: Sprouts and Ross.

Sprouts Farmer's Market will take about 30,000 SQFT and is a solid options for fresh groceries. Ross will grab 25,000 SQFT and be one of the few clothing stores in the area. Both will help create a more convenient ecosystem for those that either live or work in the rapidly growing area.

In addition to those two anchors, Brokaw Plaza will have another 90,000 SQFT of retail when it is fully built out. There is no official ETA yet on when the first anchor will open.

Source: The Merc




Monday, January 4, 2016

New Mixed-Use Residential Project Slated for East San Jose

We are going to kick off the first workweek of 2016 with two big stories for East San Jose. Today, we'll talk about the first major development proposal in decades for East San Jose. Tomorrow, we'll have an in depth restaurant review for what might just be the best new restaurant in all of San Jose--and it happens to be in East San Jose.

The Empire Lumber site at 1260 E. Santa Clara Street is clearly a prime spot for redevelopment given that it is across the street from a future BART station. Despite the fact that we won't see any trains stopping at that station until the year 2025 or so, developers have already started taking serious interest in the neighborhood.

Steinberg has proposed a seven-story mixed-use building with 418 apartments and 30,000 SQFT of commercial space on the ground floor. As you can see from the drawings below, this is not your typical building in East San Jose. You have large sidewalks with outdoor dining along Santa Clara Street facing Five Wounds Portuguese National Church--one of our most iconic buildings. There are plenty of large balconies for residents, including some nice ones on the penthouse floors. There is a swimming pool and green space on the podium level above the retail and parking, and Steinberg even designed it to have a view. A publicly accessible urban plaza would sit between two large retail pads: 18,000 SQFT on East Santa Clara Street and 12,000 SQFT at the corner of Santa Clara and 28th Street.

The Empire Lumber lot currently houses a used-car dealership, definitely not the best use for this land. There is some push-back from the community on the proposed height of 85 feet. The current site plan has a cap of 55 feet on part of the proposal, so Steinberg would require a variance to get approval. Given this location near a future BART station and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station that will hopefully go live by the end of this year, we should be going as dense and tall as possible. This would be a terrific addition to the neighborhood!

Source: SVBJ