Robots Taking over the Tech Tomorrow

Cutting-Edge Robotics Take Over The Tech Museum of Innovation

Museum hosts entire day of human-robot interaction activities on MLK day

SAN JOSE, CA –Bust out moves to your favorite tunes alongside a humanoid robot as your partner. Hear from experts leading the social robot evolution. Build a robot comedian and laugh out loud. There may soon be a day when robots are integrated into our everyday lives, and even be able to anticipate and adjust to human preferences.

For an entire day, The Tech showcases a variety of social robots and guest speakers at the forefront of their field. NAO, a programmable humanoid robot from France’s Aldebaran Robotics, will perform dances to popular hits throughout the day. Guests can also program Play-i' Bo the Robot to play a xylophone, as well as engage with Furby and Pleo and see how they respond to actions.

Over in the RoboTheater, visitors can try their hand at design by programming a human robot to perform a variety of tasks before heading into The Tech’s Social Robots experience to design and build their own robot that makes them laugh. The museum will feature a special theme in the experience that day – Robot Comedians.

Special speakers include Intuitive Automata’s Cory Kidd and Professor Andrea Thomaz. Thomaz is an Associate Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and an innovator in the robotics field. Published in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Human-Robot Interaction, she is radically redefining how robots and humans interact.

WHO/WHAT: Special robot programming and special guests throughout the day featuring Georgia Tech’s Professor Andrea Thomaz, Intuitive Automata’s Cory Kidd, Play-i founders, NAO, and a bevy of engaging social robots. Free with Museum Admission.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. MLK day, Monday, January 20

WHERE: The Tech, 201 S. Market St., San Jose, CA

For more information and programming schedule, visit: http://www.thetech.org/

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the #1 Richest City in America

You will have to hit the source link for the video, but San Jose was named the Richest City in America. There were some shots of Downtown both at the beginning and the end of the video. What do they attribute San Jose's success to? Tech, tech, and more tech.

The #2 wealthiest city was Washington, D.C., followed by Bridgeport, CT in 3rd. San Francisco came in 4th while Boston rounded out the top 5.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Bobby Guz Man from the San Jose Development Forum

JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers at The Blank Club, Jan 21st

If you are craving some dirty blues and rock n' roll, then there's a great band coming The Blank Club next week that I think you'll enjoy. JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers has just released their third album entitled Wild Moon. You can get a little preview by watching the YouTube video below. The band was originally formed as an old-timey acoustic outlet for JD Wilkes, but has since become fully amplified as you can hear in the video. Grab some Kentucky Bourbon and enjoy.

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014
JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers
@ The Blank Club
San Jose, CA
Doors: 8:00PM
Show: 9:00PM
Tix: $10 // 21+

BASIS Private School Coming to San Jose

BASIS is responsible for some of the highest ranked charter schools in the country. There operate a dozen for-profit charters across DC, Arizona, and Texas. However, it looks like there are branching out to the private school system and are launching their first two in San Jose and Brooklyn.

The Silicon Valley campus will be located in Midtown San Jose (1290 Parkmoor) and will eventually accommodate 800 students. The plan is to offer education from grades 5 through 12, with tuition clocking in at $22,000 a year (wow, private schools are getting expensive).

The San Jose site was chosen deliberately so that they could be in the "heart of technological innovation." It seems like their culture will mesh quite well with Silicon Valley, which comes closer to a meritocracy than any other region in the world. BASIS does not believe in the traditional "elitist model of private education," there will be no boards made up of influential parents/donors, and there will be no fundraising efforts. The curriculum is heavily STEM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). 8th Graders have access to nine different math options and the curriculum will be both challenging and based on international standards.

This sounds like a school right up San Jose's alley! They are even constructing it in an office campus ;).

Source: SVBJ

1290 Parkmoor

SJMADE @ SJMA Today

Come check out a great event showcasing locally-made art and goods today at the San Jose Museum of Art. It is free to access the SJMADE mini-mart in the lobby, but you can also visit the galleries for just $5 after 5 PM.

January 16, 2013

5–8 PM
Admission to the workshop and galleries is just $5 after 5 PM (free for members).
Admission to SJMADE Mini Mart is free.

San Jose Made (SJMADE) is a platform for local San Jose makers, labels, brands, small businesses, and artists to showcase and sell current projects and goods. For one night only, SJMADE will gather a small group of its independent makers in SJMA’s lobby for our SJMADE Mini Mart. You can peruse the wares and then create a unique, up-cycled cup cozy or t-shirt bracelet with the help of GoGo Craft, a mobile crafting workshop that provides exciting and accessible make-and-take projects for participants at all skill levels. 

New $35M Hotel Project in North San Jose

Remember the old Piercey Toyota lot on North First near the airport? That is about to become not one, but two hotels. On the table is a 145-room Hampton Inn and Suites as well as a 140-room Home2 Suites. Unlike the SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn project also happening near the airport, each of these hotels will be housed in a separate building. However, I would be surprised if they did not share some of their resources and staff since the owner is going to be the same (Kalthia Group Hotels).

I know some of the urbanists that frequent this site will not be impressed with five-story buildings, especially along North First where we could theoretically go beyond 30. Personally, I'll take it over an empty parking lot any day of the week. North First seems under-serviced by hotels, and we need these resources to help entice more large companies to the area.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2014 Edition)

This is the 5th time I am doing this post. Each year it is more or less the same... we need to start getting some Michelin-starred restaurants in San Jose! The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric for measuring culinary greatness, and for the most part San Jose restaurants have been excluded from its pages. However, I think the foodie culture is growing here and I have high hopes for 2015.

Michelin has three different star categories:

One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.

I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2014, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 38 restaurants on the list, which is down from 42 in 2013 and the peak of 47 in 2012. 50% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 26% in Wine Country, 21% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 3% in the East Bay. The only new restaurant on the list this year is State Bird Provisions (an American dim sum-style eatery).

I will also mention that there are some restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." Within this category San Jose scored a total of 8 restaurants:

• Downtown
• Vung Tau
• Back A Yard
• Santana Row
• LB Steak
• Pizza Antica
• North San Jose
• Smoking Pig BBQ
• East San Jose
• La Costa
• South San Jose
• Bun Bo Hue An Nam
• Thien Long
• Willow Glen
• Fratello
• Japantown
• SJ Omogari

Source: Michelin Guide

The Rise of a High Rise Tower - Centerra

An Axis resident has decided to document the construction of Centerra across the street from his condo. Check out his blog over at http://centerra.tumbler.com. Great idea!

January 5th

Metro Moves Further into Downtown's SoFA District

Metro Newspapers has purchased a 4,200 SQFT building at 380 S. First St., right in the heart of Downtown San Jose's SoFA district. This is a space that has been vacant for 10 years.

Metro was actually one of the companies that helped make SoFA what it is today (it used to be San Jose's red light district). The area has hit a positive trajectory as of late. Jazz-oriented Cafe Stritch launched last year, Parque De Los Pobladores Park was greatly expanded, work started on the SoFA Market venue which will house multiple small eateries and shops, and a massive residential project called The Pierce is about to break ground (with a great design). I'm looking forward to seeing what SoFA will be like a few years from now.

The New Metro HQ will house 30 staff members and is going to be designed to easily accommodate events and temporary art galleries. Metro does a bit already (they are a First Fridays stop), but this new space will be arranged with that in mind from the beginning.

Source: SVBJ

Lick Observatory Council's Letter to the Merc

The iconic Lick Observatory is in danger of being shut down following the end of UC funding in 2018. The Lick Observatory Council has launched a campaign to find the support needed to keep it in operation. Below is a letter that was written to the Mercury News:

~~~

Lick Observatory's work deserves support

Writing on behalf of the Lick Observatory Council, we strongly urge the University of California to reconsider its unwise decision to end all funding for Lick Observatory. Lick science remains vibrant, with programs to discover Earth-sized, potentially habitable planets and to develop technology enabling ground-based telescopes to see more sharply than the Hubble Space Telescope. More than 100 UC astronomers and students use Lick each year for groundbreaking research.

Lick is also a unique educational resource for the Bay Area. Thirty-five thousand people visit annually to tour the telescopes, hear lectures by renowned astronomers and behold the universe through the eyepiece of the great refractor.

We are committed to keeping this gem alive and thriving. Our vision is compelling: a working observatory and major science education center for research, outreach and inspiration. We invite the university to support and partner with us in this quest.

Would you like to help save Lick? Learn more at www.ucolick.org/SaveLick/ .

James A. Katzman

Member, Lick Observatory Council Saratoga

Team San Jose Promo Video

Check out this well-done video that highlights a lot of San Jose's positives for tourists:

Saturday Stats: San Jose Named One of 10 Cities That Could Run out of Water

Not all the Saturday Stats are positive. The Weather Channel highlighted 10 US cities that could run out of water, and calls San Jose "one of the most water-stressed areas anywhere in the U.S." We are at high risk of water shortages, especially on top of multi-year droughts like we had between 205 and 2007. Other cities that made the list include El Paso, Miami, Lincoln (Nebraska), Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Atlanta.

Sources: The Weather Channel, Hat tip to Bel

Column of Air @ The Citadel and Motif

Column of Air is a new local musical duo consisting of David Sosa and artist Andre Hart. They just finished recording their first EP and have two shows lined up over the next few days. The first will be at The Citadel Art Gallery on January 18th, which will also be showcasing Andre's paintings (you can see a preview of these below) and feature poetry and theatrical performances.

They will also be playing at Motif in Downtown San Jose on January 20th along with an assortment of other musical acts in a show called Pixels. This event is 21+ and is all about the freedom of expression through sound.

Column of Air Facebook Page
RAW artists - Column of Air Page

Another Costco Coming to South San Jose

An empty 76-acre Edenvale site near Highway 85 and Great Oaks could become the site of another Costco. This is land that used to be part of the IBM/Hitachi campus. In addition to the massive wholesaler, there would be 260,000 SQFT of new office space, ~50,000 additional SQFT of retail, and 720 housing units. The city of San Jose plans for this to eventually become and urban village connected with mass transit.

One surprising side benefit of this development project is that $10 million would go towards the new San Jose Earthquakes Stadium. The money would be used for upgrading the stadium, including an upgraded seating system and riser, and a terra-cotta finish.

Source: SVBJ

Johnny Cash's Tribute Show is Coming to the Montgomery Theater

James Garner's critically acclaimed tribute to Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three is coming to Downtown San Jose on January 18th. In addition to performing hits like "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line," and "Folsom Prison Blues," Garner will recount stories about Johnny Cash and his band. So you get both the songs and the story behind the songs.

Tickets for James Garner's Tribute to Johnny Cash are available at SanJoseTheaters.org and range from $31-46.

Virident Moving from Milpitas to San Jose

Virident is a storage company that specializes in flash-based technologies that are used in data centers. They have decided to move their headquarters from a 30,000 SQFT space in Milpitas to 68,000 SQFT at 1745 Technology Drive in San Jose. The building used to be part of the old Brocade campus before they moved to @First.

Virident will bring with it over 100 employees, along with the potential to house nearly 300 in the new space. While the main reason for the move was to have room to expand, I like how a company executive also mentioned it was "closer to amenities employees may be looking for."

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Retail Under Highways

In Houston, one of this issues that is currently holding back developers are the highways that bifurcate the city, especially in their downtown area. Gensler (which is a SF-based firm) suggested building retail underneath Houston highways to better connect city streets divided by highways and spur development. I have seen this concept in action when I visited Tokyo many years ago. Heck, there are even whole shopping malls built underneath streets and highways there.

Building retail underneath highways and major roads could make a lot of sense for Downtown San Jose, especially where Highway 87 crosses Santa Clara Street and San Fernando Street. Eventually we will have major art installations in both of those locations, but having retail there would take it to the next level. North Almaden and 87 (leading to Little Italy) would be another great spot. I'm sure there are several potential retail sites along 280 as well.

What do you guys think?

Source: Anonymous Poster, Houston Business Journal

Sharks Planning SAP Center and Sharks Ice Upgrades

Last month John Tortora, the COO of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, made several interesting comments about the future of the Shark Tank and Sharks Ice (the Sharks' practice facility which is also open to the public). It sounds like he is interesting in remodeling the SAP Center to keep it competitive for prestigious events, especially given the $1.3 billion stadium going up in Santa Clara. One of the specific things he mentioned is rolling out new technology like in-seat food and merchandise delivery. This is exactly what the 49ers are planning for the new stadium--a mobile app is used to have items delivered right to your seat.

Tortora also has plans to expand the Sharks Ice facility a stones-throw away from Downtown San Jose. It is already the largest ice facility west of the Mississippi, but he would like to take it from four sheets of ice to six. The total cost of that project would be in the $60 million range.

Source: SVBJ

Santana Row in January, February and March 2014

Check out the release below for the latest news, promotions, and events happening at Santana Row:

~~~

 

San Jose, CA (Jan 3, 2013) – Happy New Year from Santana Row! The Row is gearing up for another exciting year of celebrations, openings and events in 2014. We hope you’ll share the journey with us.

 

Rainy Day Rewards, through March 31, 2014

When there’s a 70 percent or greater chance for rain, shoppers and diners braving bad weather will be rewarded with discounts that include 15 percent off purchases at participating shops and restaurants, a free signature Santana Row golf umbrella for customers who spend $150 anywhere on The Row and a $20 gift certificate to a participating shop or restaurant for customers who spend $300 on a designated Rainy Day.

No need to get wet: On all rainy days, customers can pick up a complimentary umbrella to use while shopping and dining and then return it before leaving. The yellow umbrellas are conveniently located throughout The Row - outside Concierge, Via between Village California Bistro and Lark Creek Blue and the valet parking lot in the Winchester Parking Garage.

 

Silicon Valley Education Foundation Wine Stroll

Thursday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sip wine, shop and stroll and enjoy chef demonstrations and samples at this event benefiting the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. The evening includes a reception inside Misora, the newest luxury community at Santana Row.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.SantanaRow.com or at the concierge office. Registration opens at 5:45 p.m. in Santana Row Park across from Left Bank Brasserie.

A look ahead to February and March…

 

Wine & Dine Around Benefit for the American Heart Association

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

More than a dozen Santana Row shops and restaurants host exclusive in-store events with complimentary wine and food pairings and incredible one-time discounts available only to ticketholders, all to benefit the American Heart Association. The wine stroll begins on Olin Avenue at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 and include access to all in-store events, a Heart Card shopping pass, wine bottle tote bag and a signature Santana Row wine glass. Tickets available in person at Concierge or online at santanarow.com.

Chinese New Year Celebration

Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Santana Row celebrates the Year of the Horse with an afternoon of Chinese New Year festivities. The celebration begins at 1 p.m. with exciting drumbeats and crashing cymbals of the Lion and Dragon dances in Santana Row Park.

The afternoon is filled with a lineup of traditional live performances celebrating the start of a new year and includes martial arts demonstrations, fashion presentations, music, singing and dancing.

The event is free and open to the public.

 

Third Annual 408K Race to the Row

Sunday, March 2 

The eight-kilometer road race that benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation and its Team Tillman initiative is winding through the streets of San Jose for the third year in a row. It starts at SAP Center on The Alameda and ends at Santana Row. The 8K run last year drew more than 4,000 runners.

For information and registration, go to: www.run408k.com

 

Twitter Promotion @SantanaRow Invites Tweets #LifeOnTheRow

For a Chance to Win Gift Cards to Restaurants at The Row

Santana Row’s Twitter campaign and photo contest continues through the @SantanaRow Twitter handle. The contest invites anyone at Santana Row to Tweet photos of a new outfit, haircut, meal, event or artsy shots and then Tweet it to Santana Row with the hash tag #LifeonTheRow. Every month, Santana Row will post an album on Facebook with all of the photos with the #LifeonTheRow hash tag. The person who took the best or most original photo will win a gift card to a Santana Row restaurant.

 

About Santana Row

Santana Row a 1.5 million square foot mixed used development in the heart of San Jose, California, is Silicon Valley's premier destination for shopping,

dining, living and nightlife. Surrounded by landscaped gardens, parks and plazas, Santana Row features over 70 retail shops, more than 20 acclaimed restaurants, a 212-room boutique hotel and six-screen movie theatre. In addition to the dynamic retail collection, Santana Row offers 622 residential units featuring a fitness center, rooftop pool and resort-living accommodations, and 65,000 square feet of office space at 300 Santana Row, its newest office address. Santana Row is a property of www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visitwww.santanarow.com.

 

 

 

About Federal Realty

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 20 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.3% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of September 30, 2013, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.4% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 46 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.

New KT Properties Sister Tower Renders!!!

The two tower high-rise project across from the San Pedro Square Market has gotten a new set of renders, and the buildings look gorgeous! This is what towers in Silicon Valley should look like. Be sure to check out the night shot below, highlighting the cool LED accent lighting.

It appears that this KT Properties project is now being called "Silvery Towers." Also worth mentioning, there is a three-story retail pavilion that is separate from the two towers. An outdoor dining terrace will be part of the top retail pavilion floor featuring a nice view of the San Pedro Square Market. The main building will have tons of retail and two large bike-parking rooms on the ground floor. On the podium there is an infinity-edge pool, bocce ball courts, and common areas for residents.

My hat goes off to KT Properties on this project. If you are still on the fence on whether Downtown San Jose is on a positive trajectory or not... the renders below should help sway you in the right direction.

Source: mjmcalister from the San Jose Development Forum

Student Apartment Project Groundbreaking in June

While not as impressive as Centerra or One South, Symphony Development is planning a dense infill project targeting SJSU students at 51 N. Sixth Street. The site is a parking lot for the First United Methodist Church right behind the 12-story Art Deco Vintage Tower. The building will consist of 119 market-rate apartments spread across seven stories on a one-acre lot (the first two floors will be parking). The total price tag will be around $40 million.

I don't believe this project has a retail component, but the sketch below does look like it has a couple sections that would make ideal retail spots. They could simply be communal areas. There is some retail right in front of this building in the Vintage Tower, as well as tons of places to eat within a few blocks such as Ike's, ISO: Beers, Cafe Pomegranate, 4th Street Pizza, Punjab Cafe, and popular SJSU hangout spot SmokeEaters. There will also be a BRT station within a block or two. I think this will be a great addition to the neighborhood!

Source: SVBJ

Stealth San Jose Startup Raises $33 Million

One of Silicon Valley's leading VC firms has just given a huge vote of confidence to a San Jose startup. Sequoia Ventures invested $33 Million in VIPtela, a networking company that is still in stealth mode. Word on the street is that they are helping large companies build more agile and secure networks. VIPtela is located at 1735 Technology Drive, near the San Jose airport.

Source: All Things D

Playful People Productions Presents: Disney’s 101 Dalmatians Kids

Dalmatian parents Pongo and Perdita live a happy, quiet life in London with their eight puppies and two human pets – Roger and Anita.  But when their villainous neighbor Cruella De Vil decides to kidnap the puppies with the help of her two henchmen, the race is on for the dogs of London to find and save the puppies before they become another fur coat in Cruella’s collection!

Keep your pups on their leashes!  Disney’s 101 Dalmatians KIDS is certain to charm and delight all audiences.  A fun and spirited adaptation of the classic Disney animated film, performed by a fabulous cast of eager 4-9 year olds who are sure to put a smile on your face!

All Shows at the Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave  San Jose, CA 95126

Show Times:

Friday, January 17th  7:00pm

Saturday, January 18th 10:00am,  2:00pm and 7:00pm

Sunday, January 19th 10:00am and 2:00pm

Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net

$12 attendees 12 and up, and $8 children 11 and under

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)

$15 attendees 12 and up, and $10 children 11 and under

For questions: barb@galiotto.com

Playful People Productions provides a quality, caring environment in which children, youth & their families have positive theatre experiences, while being involved in many aspects of on-stage/ back-stage theatre. Our company fills a need of providing beginning through advanced theatre for the whole family to the community. The founders have expanded the program to include classes & summer camps.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the Healthiest Housing Market in the US

According to Zillow, San Jose has the healthiest housing market in the country. Right behind us is San Francisco, followed by Los Angeles in 3rd place and San Diego in 4th. Sacramento came in 10th place, meaning five of the top 10 housing markets are currently in California.

This should help reduce the number of homeowners that are underwater with their mortgage and overall foreclosures, but continued housing appreciation will also make it more difficult for people to afford to live here.

Source: NBC News, Hat tip to Barclay Livker

Cavium Doubles San Jose Office Space

Cavium is a networking company that was founded in three small office rooms in San Jose back in 2000. They eventually moved to Santa Clara, then Mountain View, and in 2011 they returned home to San Jose. Now, they are expanding their footprint in North San Jose by signing a lease for a neighboring 111,000 SQFT building at 2345 N. First. This will bring them up to a grand total of 224,000 SQFT.

North San Jose office vacancy was 21.5% last quarter, so this expansion should made a positive dent in those figures sometime in the near future.

Source: SVBJ

Strike Brewing Co. Building a Permanent Home Right Here in San Jose!

It has been two years since San Jose's own Strike Brewing Co. launched. They are well known for their IPAs, Reds, and seasonal beers (the Stout is my favorite). While looking for a home, they have been using Hermitage's brewing facilities which is also located in San Jose (7th Street). They could have moved anywhere in Silicon Valley, but they decided to keep their permanent brewery right here in San Jose. You'll be able to visit them at 2099 S. 10th Street after they are fully up and running in March of this year. It sounds like they will have a tasting/tap room, so we have yet another craft beer destination to look forward to!

Paul Mitchell Beaty School Opening Downtown

The California Academy has signed a lease for a 20,000 SQFT standalone building over at 130 Almaden Blvd. in Downtown San Jose's CityView Plaza.. The plan is to build a Paul Mitchell-branded cosmetology school with capacity for 200-250 students and 30 employees. The school is planning to serve around 500 clients and will offer discounted prices on a full line of services such as cuts, colorings, and stylings.

The school is hoping to move in by April 2014, filling yet another vacant Downtown space.

Source: SVBJ

Levi's Stadium Aerial View

Here is a view of the 49ers Stadium circa early December courtesy of someone's personal drone. Since this was taken the seats have all been put in, the lighting is just about done, and the massive scoreboard is functional.

Source: Usedmedia from the Santa Clara County Development Forum

2014 is Going to be an Epic Year for San Jose!

Happy New Year everyone! 2013 was a great year for San Jose and I think 2014 is going to be even better. Just a little warning, this is going to be a very long post.  First off, what do we have to look forward to in 2014:

• The 49ers Stadium - Not only will San Joseans have easy access to a world-class facility, but it will bring some big dollars into our economy. San Jose stands to gain as much as Santa Clara with this new project, and it may also lead to an inflection point with VTA Light Rail. You also have to love that the first major event there will be a San Jose Earthquakes game.
• 10 New Cranes in the Air Downtown - The development boom in Downtown San Jose has just begun. While we already have cranes up for One South and Centerra, expect to see a sky filled with them by the end of 2014.
• Major Events at the San Jose Convention Center - The remodeled convention center looks fantastic. The 2014 Silicon Valley International Auto Show will be the first event to take full advantage of the new space, and I'll look forward to many more events that use the new space.
• More Great Restaurants - In 2013 we saw a huge list of significant openings Downtown: SP2, Cafe Stritch, Orchestria Palm Court, The Farmer's Union, Blackbird Tavern, Nemea, Ike's Vyne, Konjoe, Bray, Bel Bacio, and Whispers. Expect the trend to continue in 2014. I'm especially looking forward to ISO: Beers, Da Kine Grill, CREAM, and of course the SoFA Market.
• More international flights at SJC - We got Tokyo in 2013 and I have a feeling we will land at least one other major international route in 2014.
• Construction on Transit Projects - Both BART and BRT construction will be in full swing this year. Even though those systems will not be operational in 2014, it will be 
• Seeing North First, Midtown, and Japantown Develop - These are the three areas of San Jose that are seeing major urbanization outside of Downtown. In 2014 North First will get millions of additional SQFT in office space, thousands of new homes, and improvements to Light Rail. Midtown will start seeing some new residential projects and retail as will Japantown.
• The Completion of Santana Row - The last major development projects to complete the original vision for Santana Row should be in place or nearing completion by the end of this year. 

Last year I also took the liberty of making a few 2013 predictions. Let's see how I did:

1.) More than two high-rise buildings will break ground in Downtown San Jose. We know about the Carlyle and One South Market, but I think we will see at least one more. Close, but no cigar. Those two projects did break ground but we will not get the 3rd "high-rise" project until 2014. Many people thought these two would not happen, so I still consider this an overall success.

2.) A major transportation project will be greenlit: be it a BRT line, a Lightrail Expansion, or funding for the subway portion of the BART expansion to San Jose. The number of transit riders and bicyclists will rise. Yes. BRT moving forward.

3.) San Jose will have a stronger brand and identity by the end of the year. Many new cultural and art projects will happen Downtown, helping San Jose feel and look like the Capital of Silicon Valley. I think as a brand there was movement in the right direction, especially with Downtown. Most of the art projects were pushed back, but we will see them in 2014 (underpass illumination, high-rise lighting, etc.)

4.) The Sharks will be back with a vengeance for the 2013-2014 Season. Yes. They are doing quite well ;)

5.) Downtown San Jose Office Vacancies will fall below 10%. Not even close, we are still around 20% but did score some big wins over the year.

6.) The number of restaurants in Downtown San Jose will break 250 for the first time in history. Oh, so so close... @248.

7.) We still have no decision on the A's stadium. However, you can expect a decision in 2014 before Bud Selig retires. This one will depend on how you look at it. Was there an official permanent decision on the A's or just that specific proposal? Still a bit grey here.

8.) San Jose will continue to dominate national rankings in salaries and quality of life. Yes, I think we nailed this one.

9.) We will maintain our status as the safest US city with over 500,000 residents. Yes, believe it or not. In terms of murders and violent crimes we were still far and away the safest city above 500,000 residents in the US.

10.) The Golden Triangle and North First Street developments will accelerate, and we will attract at least one massive tech company to relocate to San Jose to compliment what is the largest cluster of tech companies in the world by a huge margin. Yes, millions of SQFT in planned new developments... several major tech companies moved their HQs to San Jose and we will see a Fortune 100 company move into a million SQFT of North San Jose space in 2014.

Okay one last section here.

Now for some items related to The San Jose Blog. As some of you may have noticed, there was a slight
redesign to the layout of the site. The main panel is now much wider, allowing us to post substantially larger photos and videos. There is also a new ad-block on the right, which I tried to make as subtle as possible. I hope it is not too annoying, but if it is feel free to email me about it (josh@thesanjoseblog.com). Also, for 2014, you will likely see several more days with two posts instead of one. There is so much going on that it is difficult not to get behind with only one post per day.

That's a wrap, hope you all have an amazing first day of 2014!

From Lastlightbender's Instagram Page