Uproar Brewing Taking Over Zer01 Garage!

It's no secret that the beer scene is exploding in San Jose. Craft beer is popping up just about everywhere--heck, even our new Whole Foods on The Alameda has a microbrewery. It looks like that trend is going to continue with a notable brewery coming to the space formerly known as the Zer01 Garage (they have moved and are focusing on the Zer01 2016 Biennial).

Uproar Brewing Company is a husband and wife team from Minneapolis. They both has substantial brewing experience in a variety of craft breweries (Surly Brewing Company, Lift Bridge, Sociable Cider Works, Northbound Smokehouse).  Their taproom with have "his-and-hers" taps since they each have individual brewing styles (cool concept). There will be a total of 12 taps with four flagship beers and others that will be rotated in and out.

The new Brewery will take up about 10,200 SQFT. That also includes a spacious taproom, a full kitchen, a room for barrel-aging (see below) and special events. They are shooting for a late winter opening and their entrance will be at 439 S. 1st Street. Exciting times ahead for SoFA!

Follow Uproar Brewing on Twitter.

Source: San Jose.com, usedmedia from the San Jose Development Forum

August 2015 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The Knight Foundation provided the San Jose Downtown Association with a $625,000 grant spread over five years to to develop projects that contribute to the city's beauty, vitality, and livability. Some of the projects currently underway are:
• Street improvements such as an interactive exercise loop, a new Almaden Boulevard median, and a new light installation on the Circle of Palms
• Four new Murals
• Prototyping and Research projects
• Increasing SJDA programming from 110 days a year to 121 days
• The Downtown Homeless Jobs and Training program is expanding for 2015-2016.This project placed 28 homeless with Groundwerx for training last year. In exchange for their work, participants earned food vouchers and housing assistance. Of the 28, 10 found employment and 11 gained housing. The extra hands also led to Downtown being cleaner and better Groundwerx response times.
• Some of the city's $2.9 billion 2015-16 budget will be used for several Downtown projects:
• $68,000 will go to rehabilitating the carousel across from the SAP Center and putting it back in operations.
• $210,000 for a canopy/band shell to replace the current rented canopy at Plaza de Cesar Chavez
• $100,000 for events and programs around the US Gymnastics Trials
• $100,000 for events and programs around Super Bowl 50
• $70,000 to enhance the San Jose Veterans' Parade
• $12,500 for a Downtown homeless drop-in center at First Presbyterian
• Tech Startup Skinnyprice have moved to 111 W. St. John
• The San Pedro Square Market has several new tenants:
• Oni Mexicantessan: a new gourmet Mexican sandwich spot
• Pasta Fresca: homemade Italian cuising with sauces made from scratch
• Lou's Beach Shack: seafood such as clam chowder, calamari, fish sandwiches, as well as shave ice and cotton candy
• Insight Realty pans to develop 10.6 acres between Highway 87 and Coleman Avenue it purchased from the Union Pacific with 250,000 SQFT of office space, 650 urban homes, and neighborhood-serving retail. The total investment will be around $360 million.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Historic Photo: Downtown San Jose at 1st and San Antonio

Check out this photo that is nearly 100 years old! Cardinal2007 from the San Jose Development Forum gives a great description below of what you see in this image and what exists today.

South First Street, San Jose, c.1920 by Bennett Hall, on Flickr

"1st St, and San Antonio. The Montgomery Hotel on the left was moved south to make way for the Fairmont Annex, currently Muji is at that location. The entire block to San Fernando was redeveloped on both sides, the Fairmont Hotel is on the south end, and the building that says Pacific was replace by the Knight Ridder Building. On the right is a 2 story office/data center with retail on the first floor, a reuse of the failed Pavilion Mall. The building to the right south of San Antonio is still there, currently apartments, the movie theater wraps around it. Between San Fernando and Santa Clara on the right is most of the same buildings on the left some where redeveloped, one burned down, and is now an empty lot owned by the Archdiocese. 

The light rail tracks are roughly between the tracks and where the cars are parked on the right. The old tracks are long gone."

Saturday Stats - San Jose Ranks as the #2 Swim City in America

The San Jose Metro ranked as the second best city in the US for swimming according to a study commissioned by USA Swimming and Speedo. They noted that the South Bay has the most swimming pools per capita in the country. With 63 pools, the San Jose area has more places to swim than any other city with a population less than 2 million.

There is also a long heritage of swim champions that came from the San Jose area. The Santa Clara Swim Club has produced a whopping 51 Olympic gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 12 bronze medals. The club is gearing up for an impressive overhaul as you can see below. The end result should be one of the most advanced international swim centers in the world.

Anne Arbor, Michigan took the top spot in the study and the San Francisco-Oakland Metro came in third. We'll see how the new swim center impacts the rankings a few years from now.

Source: The Merc

San Jose Indie Band "A Yawn Worth Yelling" Releases New Single

One of our local indie rock bands called A Yawn Worth Yelling has just released their latest single and it is getting some national attention. The song is called Lonely Prisoner and you can hear it for free right over here. The band sounds great! Below is some additional information:

The San Jose, CA-based four piece formed in 2011, and have since shared the stage with prominent artists including Saint Motel and Relient K. They also recently played an exclusive showcase at E3 in Los Angeles, and have received praise from notable outlets including Examiner, Impose Magazine and PopMatters. The latter called their style, "upbeat, youthful, and sun-drenched pop...these guys know how to capture the summertime vibe with aplomb."

You can follow the A Yawn Worth Yelling website here.

Playful People Productions Presents: Disney's Alice in Wonderland

Disney’s Alice in Wonderland JR

Join Alice’s madcap adventures in Wonderland as she chases the White Rabbit, races the Dodo Bird, Gets tied up with the Tweedles, raps with the bubble-blowing Caterpillar, goes to the craziest tea-party ever, and beats the Queen of Hearts at her own Game!

Alice boogies down the rabbit hole into a Wonderland of adventures and music with familiar favorites from the original animated Disney classic including “The Unbirthday Song” and “Painting the Roses Red,” along with additional gems like “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Alice in Wonderland is a musical feast for the entire family!

Our shows often sell out prior to the show weekend. Be sure to buy your tickets early, you won’t want to miss out on this fantastic production.

Show Times:
Friday, July 31st-  10am, 1pm, 7pm
Saturday, August 1st - 10am, 1pm, 4pm

Alice in La La Land

Join Playful People for another original mash-up show, Alice in La La Land. Meet Alice, an Indiana girl swept into a madcap Los Angeles adventure. She mingles with Hollywood royalty, appears on a reality show, finds her center with the aid of a yoga-practicing Caterpillar, and matches wits with Orange County Tea Party activists. In her showdown with #TheRedQueen, Alice discovers who she is and sings it for all the world to hear. Another Playful People original, with music by the artists you love to sing along with in the car! Our shows often sell out prior to the show weekend. Be sure to buy your tickets early, you won’t want to miss out on this fantastic production.

Show Times:
Thursday, July 30th - 7pm
Saturday, August 1st - 7pm

Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net
$12 attendees 12 and up, $8 children 11 and under,  and $6 Children’s floor seating

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)
$15 attendees 12 and up, $10 children 11 and under, and $6 Children’s floor seating

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

SoFA Sundays

This new event somehow snuck under my radar. Several SoFA arts groups have come up with a monthly "SoFA Sundays" event centered around Gore Park. The event includes food trucks, performances, music, and a variety of community activities. Participating venues are ICA, MACLA, SJQT, the San Jose Stage, City Lights Theater Company, the SoFA Market, Cafe Stritch, and the Continental.

The first event was on July 26, 2015 and you can get a recap over here. Below is the full schedule for the rest of 2015.

SoFA Sundays Schedule

• August 9, 12pm-5pm
• September 13, 12pm-5pm
• October 4, 12pm-5pm
• November 15, 12pm-5pm
• December 13, 12pm-5pm

Source: The Merc

Updated Renders for the Post & San Pedro Tower!

The proposed Post & San Pedro Tower has a brand new design that looks even better than the previous render (the last photo down below). The new owners of the project--Simeon Residential Properties and Kinship Capital--wanted something more dynamic and lively. They used a wider variety of materials and now there are tons of setbacks and balconies, which makes perfect sense in a city that has 300 sunny days each year.

The design isn't the only change. They have added 20 more units to bring it to a total of 202, while keeping the height and footprint of the building the same. Also added: an outdoor pool, spa, and dog park on the fourth floor. Parking is three levels below ground and two above ground, with no separate exterior garage.

There will be two retail pads: 1,500 SQFT on San Pedro, which would be ideal for a cafe or deli, and 3,200 SQFT on Post Street that is being earmarked for a boutique gym. Given that Post Street does not have a significant retail presence, Simeon is considering offering a moderate discount on rent to bring someone into the space (makes perfect sense, which more Downtown developers would do the same).

It looks like this is really coming together nicely. If the Post & San Pedro Tower comes to fruition, it will be another great asset for Downtown San Jose!

Source: SVBJ

New Render

New Render

Previous Render

SJSU Campus Village Phase II

San Jose State University's newest student housing building is now well under construction. The $126 million building will be next to Campus Village Phase I and have 850 beds across 10 floors. This will allow SJSU to move further away from it's prior reputation as a commuter school and attract more students from out of state or the country.

Check out the latest construction photos below courtesy of Robertee from the San Jose Development Forum.

Jade Leaf Filling Long Vacant Spot Downtown

Remember McWhorters in Downtown San Jose on Market and San Fernando? That retail space has been empty for what seems like an eternity. Finally a new tenant is taking its place, and it looks like a solid addition to Downtown's restaurant scene.

As you can see from the sign, Jade Leaf will have food, a bar, and a live jazz lounge. So we're getting both a restaurant and a new live music venue, double win!

Source: Nate Donato-Weinstein's Twitter

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the Second Best City for Summer Jobs

Based on metrics such as job growth, availability of part-time employment, and summer activities, the San Jose metro was ranked as the second best city for summer jobs. There are nearly 400 service sector positions currently available in San Jose, and you can't beat the weather or the variety of festivals and activities we have throughout the summer.

Denver was at the top of the list, while my two favorite competitors (San Francisco and New York City) did not rank in the top 10.

Source: ZipRecruiter

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest - Aug 7-9th

The 26th annual Summer Fest this August features over 100 performers on 12 different stages. You have every incarnation of Jazz imaginable as well as R&D, Blues, and Salsa. It is one of the largest and most renowned Jazz festivals anywhere and is a must-attend event for Bay Area music lovers!

New this year is special programming for the South First Area (SoFA). On Friday night there will be new indoor and outdoor stages in the district, providing an extra-lively South First Friday. Speaking of lively, there will be all sorts of late night parties. They have done 24-hour Jazz marathons in previous years, and I'll look forward to seeing what they have planned this year.

For all of the details, head over to The San Jose Jazz Summer Fest website. Tickets are already available for purchase over here.

Time Map of San Jose Annexations (1900-2014)

It is fascinating to see how San Jose has grown via annexation over the years. The 45 second time lapse video below takes us from the 1900s all the way to last year. The expansion between the 50s and 70s is especially significant. Willow Glen, Berryessa, and Alviso were all independent cities at some point in the past. Even our job-center, North San Jose, was mostly independent until the 60s and 70s. Check it out below.

Source: Hillrise from the San Jose Development Forum

Veggielution: Bounty of Heart's Delight

Each year, Veggielution throws the premier gourmet dining event for vegetarians and veggie lovers--Bounty of Heart's Delight. This year, Matthias Froeschl from Nashmarkt is preparing a five course feast. If you haven't been to Nashmarkt before, it is easily the best restaurant in Campbell and I'm sure Matthias will do an amazing job.

This event includes a tour of the farm, appetizers, the feast (featuring San Jose grown veggies), local beers and wines, hay rides, a silent auction, and even a barn dance. Tickets are not cheap, but you will get what you pay for and the proceeds go towards supporting San Jose's urban farm and their numerous community programs.

Bounty of Heart's Delight takes place on Saturday, August 22nd at Emma Prusch Park. Click here to buy your tickets!

St. James Park - Pirates in the Park, Chaco's Taco Festival, KARTMA, and More

I just stumbled upon the St. James Park Website and found a lot of great information in there about upcoming events and initiatives. One such event is called "Pirates in the Park." This is a treasure hunt for kids 11 and under as well as pirate-themed activities. It is happening on Saturday, August 8th between 10:00am and 1:00pm. If you are interested in volunteering and helping make the park a better place for everyone, head over here.

Next up we have an event more catered towards adults on August 15th called the Chacho's Taco Festival. There will be taco stands, tecate beer, live music, lucha libre, food trucks, a car show, and a taco-eating contest (which San Jose should dominate given we now have two stars in the "sport"). The event will run from 11am to 8pm and you can get all of the details along with a map over here.

There is a social entrepreneurship venture called KARTMA street cafe which is partially funded by the Knight Foundation and Ebay Foundation. This concept brings an eco-friendly coffee shop to St. James Park with the goal of employing the homeless and teaching them skills that can be used to land jobs in other cafes. For more info or to help raise the last $6k needed to get the cafe off the ground, head over to their Indiegogo campaign (10 days left, nearly fully funded).

The St. James Park website also have some great historical resources, including the full audio from a speech that John F. Kennedy gave while on the campaign trail there and a great video detailing the full history of the (in)famous park. There is a page on development happening around the park, future projects in the park such as the Levitt Pavilion, and a full list of special events. I highly recommend checking it out over here and hopefully together we can restore this park to once again be an asset we can all be proud of.

Equinix Building Huge Data Center in South San Jose

Equinix is a publicly-traded real estate trust that operated 105 data centers around the world. They are planning to add up to 1 million SQFT of office space across five new buildings in South San Jose! This is one of their best performing markets and they want to make sure that they are preparing for the future.

If the project is approved, Equinix will build three, two-story data centers totaling 579,000 SQFT on former owned by Xilinx and another two, two-story data centers totaling 386,000 SQFT near its existing buildings on Great Oaks.

Many data center operators try to locate in Santa Clara which is serviced by the exceptional utility, Silicon Valley Power as opposed to PG&E. Silicon Valley Power not only sells their juice for far less than PG&E, but they are more reliable and provide better customer service. However, land has become so expensive in Santa Clara that the numbers are penning out better in San Jose despite PG&E. It also helps that Equinix has already laid out miles of fiber in South San Jose.

While data centers do not provide a ton of jobs, they do provide the city with significant tax revenue while requiring minimal city services. It is also tough to argue with more commercial development in residential-heavy South San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Photo of Hart's Department Store

Below is a photo of Hart's Department Store from the 1950s. It was one of the last department stores to shut down, closing its doors for the last time in 1968 after a 102 year history in Downtown San Jose. You can also see the Basilica poking its head in the background of the photo.

Source: cardinal2007 from the San Jose Development Forum

Saturday Stats: Santa Clara County Property Values Hit $409B

A new property valuation record has been established for Santa Clara County. The official gross assessed value for all property in the county is $409 billion. After you take away tax exempt properties such as colleges and churches, the net number becomes $388 billion. This is a 8.67% increase over last year and the largest growth in 10 years.

While it is pretty clear property values are increasing across the board, there are two individual contributors that made a large impact this year. Levi's Stadium was valued at $1.4 billion and Apple's Spaceship Campus was valued at $820 million (even in its current under-construction state).

The increased valuation should mean more revenue for Santa Clara County to provide civic services. Several county projects to address homelessness were attributed to substantially decreasing the homeless population over the last two years. Increased revenue could lead to more funding for projects like those.

Source: SVBJ

KQED's Boomtown - Finally: San Jose Starts to Capitalize on the Tech Boom

KQED has an interesting five minute radio spot on San Jose's relationship with the recent tech boom. They did a good job of presenting both challenges and opportunities, as well as some history. I don't necessarily agree with all of the statements made, but thought it would be interesting to throw it out there and see what everyone here thinks.

Hat tip to Erik Klein for sending this in.

BAM Relocates to Downtown San Jose

Yet another tech company is going to call Downtown San Jose home! BAM Labs is a health monitoring company that captures sleep data for both healthcare providers and consumers. BAM is founded by two Apple alumni (one developed the PowerBook and the other wrote its specs).

The company has moved its headquarters from Campbell to the entire 12th floor 111 W Saint John Street (about 13,000 SQFT). Welcome to the neighborhood!

Source: Bisnow, Hillrise from the San Jose Development Forum

Sourisseau News: St. James Park

Did you ever wonder about the origins of St. James Park? The two minute video below gives the best summary I have seen of the park's nearly 170 year history. It is almost impossible to believe today that St. James Park once looked like the image you see below. On the bright side, a substantial effort is underway to revitalize the park and turn it back into a valued asset for our city.

Anyway, watch the video below!


St James Park from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Downtown San Jose Restaurant List Updates! (2015 Q3 Edition)

I have finally caught up again with updates for the Downtown San Jose Restaurants database! We are up to a grand total of 254 eateries! This is yet another record-breaking number for Downtown San Jose! We were at 206 eateries in 2011.

As always there were some significant closures as well. The ones that stood out to me were Little Chef, Falafel Bar, and Azucar. The good news is that the caliber of the new places opening up more than makes up for the ones that closed. Here are some of the newcomers:

• Noodle Dude - This modern but unpretentious noodle house had some of the best Ramen I've had (Yelpers agree, 4.5 star rating). You order Ramen like you would a burrito at Chipotle--the noodles, ingredients, and broth are all independently selected by the customer, so you get exactly what you're in the mood for. They also have great service.
• Konjoe-Tei - New Ramen and Izakaya joint in the SoFA Market brought to you by the owners of Konjoe. I've heard great things, also 4.5 stars on Yelp.
• On the Flipside - New Burger bar in the SoFA Market.
• Gotta Eatta Pita - Yet another 4.5 star restaurant on Yelp. Very inexpensive yet delicious Mediterranean food.
• The Joint Eatery - Specializes in diverse comfort food, including Burgers, Sandwiches, and a variety of Appetizers. Oh yeah, also 4.5 stars on Yelp.

Below is the change log from the Downtown San Jose Restaurants Database:

1/10/2015	Grub Shack closed
1/24/2015	Icebee Replaced with My Milkshake at 151 S. 2nd Street
1/24/2015	Falafel Bar closed
1/24/2015	Azucar closed
1/25/2015	Pete's Coffee on Santa Clara Street closed
1/25/2015	La Pinata on San Pedro closed
5/2/2015	Added On The Flipside, Konjoe-Tei, Hawaiian Poke Bowl, Milk and Wood, and Vitamina Juices & Blends which are all part of the SoFA Market
5/2/2015	First to Market is now called The Craftsman
7/4/2015	Konjoe-Tei in the SoFA Market is now officially open
7/4/2015	Sama Zama in the SPSM was replaced with Pasta Fresca (same owners)
7/4/2015	Little Chef at the SPSM closed
7/4/2015	Gotta Eatta Pita has replaced Amir Restaurant at 86 N Market Street
7/4/2015	The Joint Eatery is now open at 93 E Santa Clara Street (used to be Grub Shack)

If you haven't bookmarked it yet, here's the link to the spreadsheet! There is also a permanent link over to the right entitled Downtown San Jose Restaurants.

Apple is Setting Up Shop in San Jose!!!

In what will likely be the most talked about San Jose commercial real-estate deal for months, Apple is leasing the 300,000 SQFT 101 Tech campus in North San Jose! This is a two-story building formerly used by Atmel that has huge 150,000 SQFT floor plates that tech companies seem to love these days. The property was substantially renovated with skylights, outdoor amenity space, and a new facade. Next door... 12 acres of land already approved for 665,000 SQFT of new office space. Perhaps Apple will snap that up as well.

It is still unclear which department Apple will choose to locate here. I'm going to speculate a new project, like Apple's future electric cars. The location is pretty close to Tesla and many of the companies that Tesla is sourcing components from (FYI, Tesla is looking at San Jose office space as well). What is clear, is that this will have a huge branding impact on San Jose. Could this be the deal that opens up the floodgates for even more tech companies to invest in San Jose?

Source: SVBJ

The Lincoln Law School Building Downtown is Going Residential

The office market has been slow to recover Downtown despite the explosion in residential (and soon retail) development. It looks like at least one property owner has grown tired of waiting for the market to fully rebound. There is a proposal on the table to transform the 82,000 SQFT building that houses the Lincoln Law School at 1 N. First Street into a residential project.

The dated, and dare I say ugly, facade would be transformed into something much more modern. The rendering below reminds me of The Pierce in SoFA. The project would result in 72 residential units across the five floors and 7,500 SQFT of retail on the ground floor. The fifth floor would be added on top of the existing building and there would even be some units tucked into the basement. Those underground units won't be as bad as they sound since an atrium will funnel natural light to them.

However, one big question mark is whether it is even worth remodeling the building on such a key corner, or would it make more sense to tear the whole thing down and build a high-rise project in its place. Many people would like to see a Class A office building here, especially with the proximity to the future Downtown San Jose BART station.

If the project does get approved by the city, construction will take less than a year. As for the Lincoln Law School, don't worry--it is already being relocated to another Downtown building at 384 S. Second Street.

Source: SVBJ, Hat tip to Drew S. for sending this in.

Summer in St. James Park

Every week there is an assortment of events happening in St. James Park. You have family-friendly concerts every Thursday at 6:30pm, music and spoken work performances every Tuesday at 6:30pm, and Yoga and Games at noon every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can access the most recent calendar of events at the San Jose Parks Foundation website. I'm happy to see so much effort going into activating this historic park.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the Fourth Best Market for Real Estate Development

San Jose median rental price appreciation over the last year shot up 10.71%. Combined with a variety of other performance indicators such as job growth, days on market, and vacancy rates, this makes San Jose the fourth best market in the United States for real estate investment. First on the list is San Francisco, followed by Seattle and Denver. Portland rounds out the top five.

Source: All Property Management

Music in the Park: Salsa on July 17 and Los Lonely Boys August 28

SAN JOSE - Bring your dancing shoes to Music in the Park on July 17 when P’al Bailador and Julio Bravo y su Orquesta Salsabor, two of the area's top salsa bands, take the Plaza de Cesar Chavez stage. P’al Bailador, “The Dancer’s Salsa Band,” was a standout at the 2013 San Jose Jazz Summerfest. The 11-man Julio Bravo y su Orquestra Salsabor has earned the moniker, “The Bay Area’s Top Salsa Band,” by touring the Bay Area year-round, offering a range of energetic and dance-able salsa. This show also includes a guest appearance by Bloco del Sol, featuring 25-30 Brazilian drums and percussion players. Aug. 28: Los Lonely Boys, a trio of Grammy Award-winning brothers from Texas, will rock Plaza Park in this year’s Music in the park finale. They’ll play hits including “Heaven,” and songs off their 2014 release, “Revelation,” which offers elements of blues, conjunto, reggae, country, soul and acoustic musical genres. loslonelyboys.com Local favorite J.C. Smith Band, which has been voted “best blues band” in South Bay numerous times, opens the show. jcsmithband.com Concerts start at 5:15 p.m. at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.  

Advance $10 tickets are on sale at musicintheparksj.com. 

Tickets are $15 the day of the show.  

Children 12-under are free when accompanied by an adult. The concerts are produced by San Jose Downtown Association. Series sponsors include: Metro, City of San Jose, NBC, Telemundo, La Raza 93.3,KQED, El Observador, Yelp, KFOG 97.7 SJ/104.5 SF, KSJS 90.5, Content Magazine, Strike Brewing Company, Lagunitas Beer Company, J. Lohr Wines, Republic Services and Silicon Valley Bike Coalition.

Also at the event:

Kids fun in the southwest area of the park: 

• Enjoy urban art activities, live DJ and dance workshops at The FutureArtsNow! Activity Zone.  futureartsnow.org
• Interactive CHALK ZONE by Luna Chalk Arts Festival. lunaparkchalkart.org/about-us/

Food and drink:

• New this year –  Cocktail Lounge in the Park:  Tasty mixed drinks and lounge seating in a transformed space, courtesy Method42 Productions. method42.net
• Also new – Craft Beer offerings from local breweries, including Lagunitas Brewing Co. and Strike Brewing.
• Food on site from Angelou's Mexican Grill; Falafel Fresh; Pizza My Heart; Siam Loco Wraps; Asmara's Hotdogs and Kettle Korn; Snowzilla Shaved Ice and Fruit, and more. 
• J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines

Transportation:

• San Jose Bike Coalition, in cooperation with the City of San Jose, will provide free valet bike parking from 4:30 p.m.-9:45 p.m.
• To find the nearest parking options to Plaza de Cesar Chavez, go to sjdowntownparking.com

SJMADE Summer Series

SJMADE is a group of hyperlocal artisans, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs that get together throughout the year at a variety of events. They frequently have pop-ups in Downtown San Jose and Valley Fair. This summer, they will be at the brand new Whole Foods on the Alameda every single Saturday!

Most of the pop-up markets will run from 10am to 2pm, but there are some days that will have longer hours or a even a night market. For more details and to see the other events SJMADE will be participating in, head over here.

Wednesday Wishlist: Museum of the Future

I recently stumbled across this video showing a new Dubai museum dedicated to future technology. The entire building itself is going to be printed using a giant 20-foot tall 3D printer. Even the furniture inside will be 3D printed. If the Tech Museum ever expands in the future, there may be some interesting concepts from this project that can be incorporated (like the laser projection at the very end of the video).

Inaugural Viva CalleSJ San Jose!

The City of San Jose and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition have come together to bring us an unprecedented event this October. Six miles of streets will temporarily be closed to offer the public a contiguous urban space to bike, skate, run, or walk. The event stretches from St. James Park all the way to Emma Prusch Farm Park in East San Jose. This is not a race and there is no beginning or end--you can start and end anywhere.

This is a "first-of-its-kind" event and it sounds awesome. There will be three activity hubs: Emma Prush Farm Park, Parque de los Pobladores (SoFA), and St. James Park. These locations will have entertainment, activities, hydration stations, and vendor booths.

The event will run from 10am to 3pm and more information is available at the Viva CalleSJ website over here!

July 2015 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• Downtown Doors has been expanded to 100 doors and utility boxes--22 new student art works were added last night from 15 San Jose High Schools.
• Downtown San Jose's first customized crosswalks were installed on June 23rd and connect Paseo de San Antonio with First and Second streets. The Chinese knot pattern honors the
  
  former Chinatown on Market Street that was burnt down and the circuitry elements symbolize San Jose's role as the heart and capital of Silicon Valley. The crosswalk material should last 5-8 years. This was part of the PBID's Street Life Project with the goal of enhancing the pedestrian experience in Downtown San Jose.
• The Sainte Claire Hotel will be come the Westin San Jose starting on July 9th and is already taking reservations. The hotel and historic landmark  has extensively been renovated over the last two years.
• The Children's Discovery museum is celebrating its 25th anniversary with three expansion projects: 1.) FoodShed, a new cafe 2.) The Builder Building, a 3,200 SQFT workshop for kids opening in August 3.) Bills Backyard, a 27,500 SQFT expansion of its outdoor space with multiple interactive exhibits.
• Gotta Eatta Pita is now open at 86 N. Market St. and offers organic, custom-made Mediterranean pitas and salad bowls.
• The Joint Eatery is open at 93 E. Santa Clara where Grub Shack used to be located. 
• Cushman & Wakefield are moving 50 real estate brokers and staff from Santa Clara to 14,000 SQFT at 10 Almaden in Downtown San Jose.
• To enhance safety for bicyclists, the city is planning to reduce the speed limit to 20 miles per hour on First and Second Streets, St. John Street, and San Salvador Street.
• There are tons of events going on in Downtown San Jose this summer, head to the SJDA website for a full list.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

San Jose Homelessness Drops to Lowest Level in a Decade

Finally some good news regarding homelessness. The headline says it all, the San Jose homeless population has declined to its lowest level in ten years. There was a 14% drop in homelessness across all of Santa Clara County over the past two years, and the city of San Jose fared even better with a 15% drop. In 2013 there were 4,770 homeless living in San Jose and now that number has dropped to 4,063. Those living in homeless encampments such as the infamous "Jungle" have dropped from 1,230 to 778, a 38% improvement. There was also a 12% decrease in those that are chronically homeless (versus temporary homeless).

The overall numbers are still not fantastic, but at least we are moving in the right direction.

Source: The Merc

4th of July Fireworks in Downtown San Jose!

Happy Fourth San Joseans! The Rotary Club will once again sponsor a world-class fireworks display at Discovery Meadow in Downtown San Jose. You should be able to see the fireworks from most of Downtown, but the best spot will be right outside the Discovery Museum.

4th of July Fireworks are also taking place at Almaden Lake Park and the San Jose Giants Municipal Stadium in San Jose.

New Stanford Cancer Center in San Jose

A cutting-edge 70,000 SQFT Stanford Health facility will be open soon for patient care. The facility features some of the most advanced cancer fighting technologies in the world., including a linear accelerator (pictured below), CyberKnife, and targeted treatments using monoclonal antibodies. There is also an infusion treatment area on the top floor of the four-story building with expansive views of the valley.

The facility is located in South San Jose near Good Samaritan Hospital and should be ready to treat patients by mid-July.

Source: SVBJ