Valley Fair Expansion and Remodel

Last week the Silicon Valley Business Journal got a sneak peek at Westfield Valley Fair's epic $1.1 billion renovation. For perspective, that is nearly the same cost as Levi's Stadium and is more than the original budget for all of Santana Row.

The 650,000 SQFT expansion will add 160 new stores, 10 outdoor restaurants, a luxury ShowPlace ICON movie theater, outdoor event space, and a flagship Bloomingdale's. It also includes a design refresh for the entire interior of the mall as well as double the amount of current parking. The end goal is to build something that is iconic and draw shoppers from the whole Bay Area.

The renovation of the existing mall, the movie theater, and Bloomingdale's should be completed by Summer 2018. The rest of the expansion will open around April 2019.

Below are a few photos of the new sections. The outdoor area is a bit reminiscent of their neighbor--not a bad idea given Santana Row's success.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required for this article)

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

More details on the Valley Fair expansion

We have been waiting a long time for the repeatedly-delayed Valley Fair expansion, but now plans are getting very real. Westfield has a video showcasing the massive 624,000 SQFT expansion. I can't give you a direct link or embed it, but all you have to do is go to this page, and scroll down to the middle of the page.

The official price tag will clock in at a whopping $1.1 billion. Given it is one of the most profitable retail centers in the world, I'm sure that investment will pay off.

The video starts off with a lot of nice things to say about us as consumers:

The heart of Silicon Valley
#1 Wealthiest Metropolitan Area in the U.S.
#1 Highest Median Home Value in U.S.
#1 Center for Technology and Innovation in the World
#1 Fastest Growing County in U.S.
Highest Concentration of Millionaires and Billionaires in the U.S.
Hyper Educated
Hyper Entrepreneurial

Then it goes into some of the details...

624,000 SQFT Expansion
Upscale Cinemas
150 New Retail Shops
New Flagship Bloominddails
Luxury Vallet and Elegant Outdoor Dining

And then you get the posh renders of what is being planned. I grabbed a few images from the video, but recommend watching it to get the full effect.

Huge thanks to Joe Meduri for sending this in!

Sushirrito coming to Valley Fair

The original "sushi burrito" restaurant is opening their 7th location in San Jose, specifically the Valley Fair food court. They currently have four locations in San Francisco, one in Palo Alto, and one in Manhattan. The highly-rated fusion eatery should be open very soon, but I don't have an exact date. For more info, follow the Sushirrito Facebook page over here.

Thanks to Arnold Kwok for sending this in!

JINS is coming to Valley Fair on August 31st

JINS is a Japanese eyewear company with 350 retail locations in Asia. They opened their first US store last year in San Francisco. San Jose gets the honor of being their 2nd location in the US. The 2,300 SQFT Valley Fair store features 960 different styles (all designed in Tokyo) and customers can receive their glasses in only 30 minutes. Prices are reasonable, starting at $60 for frames. 15 minute eye exams will be available as well.

This marks yet another instance of San Jose grabbing an international brand that not widely available in the US. Others include Warby Parker, Kit & Ace, Bonobos, Scotch & Soda, Halston, MUJI, David Yurman, Miu Miu, and many more.

JINS will be located on the second floor between Nordstrom and Old Navy.

Din Tai Fung now open at Valley Fair

The world-famous Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung has just opened their eagerly anticipated San Jose location. Now that it has been open for a couple weeks, you might not have to wait 4-5 hours to get a seat.

What's the big deal? This restaurant has some of the best soup dumplings you'll find anywhere around the globe. The Pork XLB dumpling is a mandatory order--thousands are sold every day, maybe tens of thousands in some locations. Each dumpling is made by hand and is filled with a hearty broth and savory treat.

The restaurant has been around since 1972 and has several locations throughout Asia. There are only four Din Tai Fung dumpling houses in the US: two in LA, one in Seattle, and now one in San Jose. It is a huge win that we scored this in the South Bay, they could have easily set up shop north of us.

The 8,200 SQFT restaurant is located on the main floor of Valley Fair underneath the Dining Terrace and can seat up to 200 people. If you are willing to brave the wait times, it is well worth experiencing.

Sources: SJ Economy News, FoodGal

New 11-story hotel planned for "Uptown" San Jose

San Jose desperately needs more hotels, which increase our ability to host major events and bring more visitors into the area. Fortunately, a new hotel project has just been announced two blocks away from Santana Row and across the street from Valley Fair. The proposal is for 173 guest rooms in one 11-story building. The first floor would be the lobby and likely some retail or restaurant space, floors two through five would be parking, and floors 6 through 11 would have the rooms. One cool amenity is that there would be a restaurant and balcony on the 11th floor that overlooks the area.

While it would be nice if the building was taller and the parking was underground, you have to remember that this site currently has a gas station and we are well outside of Downtown. It sounds like a nice project for the area, especially since two possible brands are Hilton's Canopy and Choice Hotels' Cambria. Both are very contemporary high-end brands that feature nicely appointed rooms (think W Hotels). This has the potential of being really interesting inside.

Currently the project is in the city planning and approval process with a goal of starting construction in early 2017.

Source: SVBJ

More Details on Valley Fair's $600M Expansion

Things are finally getting very real regarding the long-delayed Valley Fair expansion. Nathan Donato-Weinstein provided an in-depth look at the expansion last week in the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The expansion will add 600,000 SQFT to the mall, making it the largest mall in Northern California by a significant margin. The cost will be $600M. To put that into perspective, that is about the same cost as the entire first phase of Santana Row.

The flagship addition to the mall is a 150,000 SQFT Bloomingdales--which is larger than the one in Stanford Shopping center. However, that won't be the only substantial improvement. There will be between 80 and 100 new stores, most of which will be unique retail not available today in Silicon Valley (or even San Francisco). You'll have new entertainment and service offerings including an ultra-luxury 10 screen movie theater and a massive fitness center. Parking will get easier with 4,200 new spaces, a direct connector to 880, and new available-spot guidance technology. Oh, and to make sure the mall looks consistent they are also going to renovate the older parts of the mall to look as slick as the expansion. The only thing that didn't make the cut was Neiman Marcus, but I think 99% of us will be okay with that.

The expansion will bring the whole mall closer to Santana Row and give it a respectable looking front entrance with an outdoor plaza (perhaps inspired by its aforementioned neighbor). The plaza includes restaurants with open-air seating and event space for fashion shows, book signings, and product launches. The project also requires the construction of new buildings for Bank of America and Chase.

As most of you probably know, the mall is split between San Jose and Santa Clara. Fortunately, most of the expansion will be on the San Jose side, meaning a huge boost in tax dollars for our city after the project is complete in November 2017 as well as more world class stores in our retail portfolio. While most urbanists are not big fans of malls, I think most of us can agree that this project is going to be good for our City.

Source: SVBJ

Din Tai Fung Coming to Valley Fair

World-famous dumpling house Din Tai Fung has chosen their first (and perhaps only) Bay Area location... and it's not in San Francisco. Din Tai Fung is opening a flagship 8,200 SQFT restaurant in Valley Fair (next to J. Crew). There are only five of these restaurants in the US, three in the LA area and two in Seattle. When the Seattle one opened up, the lines to get in there were three hours long.

This is yet another big win for Valley Fair, which like it's neighbor across the street is bringing in multiple world-class stores and restaurants. This is likely only the beginning since they are about to start on a $600 million expansion that will make it the largest mall in Northern California come 2017. The expansion includes a 150,000 SQFT Bloomingdales, an ultra-premium home store called Pirch, a luxury movie theater, and a Santana Row-style outdoor restaurant/lounge area.

Source: SVBJ

Valley Fair May Be Getting Upscale Movie Theater and Ultra-Premium Home Store

More details of Valley Fair's expansion and renovation are leaking out. Apparently Old Navy and Sports Authority are not high-end enough. The mall is planning to tear down both of these buildings along with a Chase Bank and build a new 86,000 SQFT addition with a ShowPlace ICON movie theater and Pirch home store. The Chase Bank will be rebuilt as a two-story freestanding building along Stevens Creek.

ShowPlace ICON is a high-end movie theater with a lounge that features a fancy menu and cocktails. Inside the screening rooms you'll find premium seating for those 21 and over, complete with over-sized loveseats. Tickets will likely be in the $20 range. There are only two ICON movie theaters in the US.

Pirch is an ultra-upscale home store where you can walk out with an oven that costs more than a fully-loaded Tesla. Upon entering the store they will give you complementary blackberry limeade and a spa robe so that you can test out their shower heads in the store itself. If Pirch gets built, it will be the first in all of Northern California.

For more details, hit the source link below.

Source: SVBJ

Polaroid Fotobars at Westfield Oakridge & Valley Fair

The other day I was contacted by a Polariod Fotobar rep wanting to let us know that they had opened “micro-stores” (giant interactive kiosks) at Westfield Oakridge (and now, Westfield Valley Fair.) During your holiday shopping you may have seen them or event sat down and you’ve already experienced them. But if not.. if the crowds were just too much, you have plenty of time to still check them out because they are PERMANENT additions to the malls.

So, I love photography. You may have seen some of my stuff here and there, maybe visited First to Market when I had my photography up (or even in the SPUR office window a few years ago!) so I felt pretty connected to this and wanted to check it out. Especially now that the holidays were over and the malls are back to being just moderately insane again.

I was set up with a meeting with “Fototender” Cory who was super helpful. He showed me all the products you can buy; trendy, colorful shadow  boxes, “rustic”-style or glass and metal prints for a snazzier upscale or even commercial use, and all the neato photo-related holders you could ever want.

The weekend I went, they were holding a promo for 6 free prints. Their standard prints (the size of a Polaroid!) are just $1. They’re printed on a thicker cardboard stock, which makes me feel like they will last for awhile.

Much to my surprise, Team Polaroid hooked me up with some complementary goods. So I sat down and Cory showed me the super easy process to get my photos printed.

First you create a quick account and immediately get the choice to upload from various sites (Flickr, Instagram, Facebook) or direct from your phone. I opted for my phone only as it would have taken me FOREVER to choose photos from my Flickr account. Plus my phone has all the most recent photos and a few favorite older ones saved on it.

After you create an account and provide your cell number to get a link texted to your phone. From there, I easily chose what photos I wanted to upload. The photos will appear in front of you on the computer you’re using. Magic.

From there you can adjust the placement and framing. Go old school with the square format with the thicker bottom border in either portrait or landscape. Or use all the available space and have an equal, thin border.

I noticed one of my photos was a little dark and while the screen said I could do effects/edit - Cory told me that the option had significantly slowed the computers so they had to remove that feature. Kind of a bummer, but at the same time I bet it cut down on how long people sat at the computers. So that said - adjust your photos before you upload!

Once you’ve uploaded and paid for your goods, you take your receipt and hit the mall! Go browse the stores, eat lunch, drink some coffee, whatever else you find fun at the mall to do - go do it. After your prints are done, you will get a text (or email) noting they are ready for pickup. I was told that on average, a small batch of about six photos took around 15 minutes to print. Obviously this would be if there are only a moderate amount of orders ahead of yours and not a super large amounts.

I decided to go with a couple of their black shadow boxes. Black goes with everything, right? These shadow boxes have a metal panel in the middle. All you do is adhere a Polaroid-shaped flat magnet to the back of your photo and plop that sucker into the frame. Voila!

Ok this is where I admit, I probably should have chosen a bunch of San Jose-themed photos for this post right? BUT, right now on my phone it’s full of either photos of my daughter and husband or food photos. So, you get to see those photos instead. But just imagine your own pics of awesome San Jose - easily printed out, slapped into these frames, and displayed.

Maybe you run a local coffee shop and want to include some photos of those super neato latte designs you’ve been creating? Here you go!

Or invite your customers to share their prints with you and you can create a little display. For $1 per print, that’s some really easy customer-love you could provide.

There’s a quote from the press release I was provided that I found interesting…

"Over one billion pictures are taken every day, and Polaroid Fotobar is a fun, easy way to take them from your Facebook timeline to your wall at home," said Warren Struhl, the company's founder and chief executive officer.  “Polaroid Fotobar is all about recapturing the magic and instant gratification of creating cherished pieces of art with your pictures."

It’s true. We’re in such an Instagrammy-Facebooky-world that most of our photos don’t make it off our phones/accounts as often, and thanks to the retro-fun that Polaroid is providing, we can do that for an affordable amount.

And you don’t *have* to go to the mall to print these, you can do it from home and have them shipped, of course. But that might take some of the fun out of it!

I think I might create a little San Jose-related project from this… the hamster is awake and the wheels are turning...

Hey look, it's ME!

Polaroid Fotobar Info:

Westfield Oakridge:

Located near the food court next to Jamba Juice

Monday-Thursday, 10am - 9pm

Friday & Saturday, 10am - 10pm

Sunday, 11am - 7:30pm

Westfield Valley Fair:

Located on Level Two next to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Monday-Friday, 10am - 9:30pm

Saturday 10am - 9pm

Sunday 11am - 7pm

Cocoabella Chocolates Valentine's Day Collections

Valentine's Day is almost here and my favorite chocolate shop is featuring several collections to celebrate the occasion. Cocoabella is a curator of the best artisan chocolates from all over the world. The quality and uniqueness of each piece blows away the cookie-cutter stores. It has gotten to the point where my wife can't go to Valley Fair without picking up one of their boxes along with a chocolate drink.

The Valentine's Day Collections include chocolates from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and across the US, all handmade and flown in last week. If your significant other hasn't tried these out yet, then you have the opportunity to score some big points this year.

Check out Cocoabella at Valley Fair on the first floor near the center court or online right over here.

Lunar New Year Event @ Valley Fair this Saturday

Westfield Valley Fair is hosting a cultural event on February 8th in celebration of the lunar new year. The agenda includes Shanxi drummers, martial arts demonstrations, a traditional lion dance, and calligraphy. The kids will also be well served with craft tables, photo booths, and student art.

The event runs from 11am to 2pm at J. Crew Court and you can RSVP at their Facebook event page right over here.

Hanhny - New San Jose-Based Fashion Label

Hanh Nguyen is a fashion designer that recently relocated back to San Jose. Over the past seven years she has lived in New York and Europe and designed for the labels Isaac Mizrahi, The Reformation, and Jessica Joyce. Now that Hanh is back in town, she's starting her own label called Hanhny.

You can check out the her full collection online over here, or you can head over to either the SJMade pop up shop at Valley Fair or the DSF Shop in SF (I'm sure you can guess my personal preference). If you visit the website, use the coupon code Hanhny25 to receive 25% your entire purchase. The promo expires on December 31st, and again here is the link.

California Pizza Kitchen Completes a Total Makeover at Valley Fair

It looks like the CPK at Valley Fair has completely transformed. The interior has been redesigned with new green elements like LED lighting, there is a new 35-person patio (which likely will not be getting much use in this weather), new food and drink options, and a more "interactive" pizza counter. Check out the release below for more details.

VALLEY FAIR CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN UNVEILS RECIPE FOR REIMAGINATION WITH COMPLETE REMODEL AND ENHANCED MENU OFFERINGS

A reimagined California Pizza Kitchen is reflected in every detail, from décor and design to new hand-tossed California-style pizzas, innovative cocktails and wine flights

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), the authority on California-style pizza and an industry leader in creative dining, today announced the completion of its newly reimagined Santa Clara, Calif. location at Westfield Valley Fair.  California Pizza Kitchen’s Recipe for Reimagination features a complete interior redesign, new hand-tossed California-style pizzas and innovative, California-themed cocktail and wine selections.

“We have been anxiously waiting to introduce our reimagined restaurant at the Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara, and we hope that it will inspire guests and remind them about what made them fall in love with California Pizza Kitchen in the first place. We are going back to our California roots to provide an authentic, elevated-yet-relaxed atmosphere for casual diners, families and foodies alike,” said California Pizza Kitchen CEO, G.J. Hart.

The 4,758 square foot Valley Fair restaurant now seats 171 guests in a redesigned communal space that has been developed with sustainability in mind. California’s environmental roots are evident in the use of unfinished, reclaimed wood both inside and outside of the restaurant, offering a casual but refined feel that is very warm in color. LED lighting is used throughout the space.

The updated 538 square foot patio now seats 35 people. California Pizza Kitchen’s traditional pizza counter, which seats 12, has been redesigned to make the hearth an even bigger focal point, giving guests the opportunity to interact with the Pizza Chefs and watch them as they hand-stretch and toss California Pizza Kitchen’s new hand-tossed pizza dough.

The reimagined menu features a wide selection of signature flatbreads with new ingredients and flavor combinations, including a new spicy fennel sausage, two different types of pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, hand crumbled wild Greek oregano, freshly torn basil and more. New appetizers and small plates include Spicy Chicken Tinga Quesadilla, White Corn Guacamole + Chips and Asparagus & Arugula Salad.

Guests can also enjoy an extensive selection of cocktails, including new signature drinks such as the “Coconut Kaffir Cooler,” made with Hangar 1 Mandarin Blossom Vodka, Perfect Purée Coconut and Kaffir Lime Leaves; and a “Strawberry Basil Martini” made with VeeV Acaí Spirit, Perfect Purée Strawberry and fresh agave sour. There are also three wine flight options, each with three, three-ounce glasses from the menu.

About California Pizza Kitchen

Born in Beverly Hills in 1985, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is a leader in authentic California-style cuisine and is widely known for its innovative menu items. California Pizza Kitchen provides a range of California-inspired dishes, from signature hand-tossed and hearth-baked pizzas, to imaginative salads, pastas, entrées, soups, sandwiches and cocktails. A Southern California classic, CPK incites international cravings in more than 11 different countries. For more information on California Pizza Kitchen visit cpk.com.

Follow us on Twitter @calpizzakitchen, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/californiapizzakitchen and stay connected through http://instagram.com/californiapizzakitchen (#cpknextchapter).

Cocoabella Chocolates - Awesome New Chocolate Shop at Valley Fair

Cocoabella owner Michael Freeman has traveled all over the world in search for the finest chocolates currently being produced. Well I have to say... mission accomplished. So far I have tried over 20 different kinds of their chocolates and can attest first-hand that the collection they have amassed is incredible. I don't think there is any other chocolate shop in Silicon Valley that comes close to what Cocoabella is offering at the entrance of Valley Fair's luxury wing.

In many cases, Michael would have to spend years building relationships with chocolatiers before being able to sell their chocolates. Brand image is critical to these boutique producers, so every shop a chocolatier works with has be be meticulously vetted and meet strict standards in terms of transportation, climate control, how long chocolates can be displayed before being rotated. For some distributors, Cocoabella is the only chocolate shop that carries their product in the United States.

In the shop itself, the chocolates are separated by regions: US, Canada, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and South America. There are about 150 varieties of chocolates that they carry, no two are the same. You have everything from cognac truffles, to candied figs stuffed with lemon peel and almonds, to almond praline mushroom caps. The list is endless and there are no "toothpaste" flavors here, every fruit-infused chocolate I tried was surprisingly amazing (these are typically my least favorite chocolates). If you want to try items that are unique, Cocoabella even had a blue-cheese based chocolate and several with exotic spices and chili-peppers.

If you are a fan of hot chocolate, their milk chocolate drink was the best I have ever had in my life. It's a blend of three different kinds of premium chocolate and is well worth a detour any time you're in Valley Fair.

I also have to mention that the staff was incredibly helpful. Their depth of knowledge on each piece of chocolate was impressive, and you can tell that they loved what they did and were passionate about their product (you would hope so, given they selling awesome chocolates from around the world).

For this level of quality, the prices are quite reasonable. You typically end up paying $2-3 per piece, which is not much more than what Godiva charges. You can either hand-pick your chocolates, buy pre-packaged boxes with seasonal themes, or put in an order through their website.

Cocoabella Chocolates is located on the first floor of Valley Fair near the Center Court and neighboring Hugo Boss, Banana Republic, and Wolford.