Friday Night Concert @ St. James Park tomorrow from 6-8pm

St. James Park is going to be filled with activity tomorrow night thanks to the Summer in St. James Park Concert Series. In addition to live music, there will be all sorts of games and food. It is nice to really see this park finally come alive and contribute to the Downtown culture. More details below from the FB event page.

It’s Happening! this summer in St. James Park! The City of San Jose’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has partnered with San Jose Jazz to bring the downtown community and jazzy tunes and chill vibes with a series of SJ Jazz Boom Box Performances and rotating free and family-friendly activities. This Friday’s activities will include: SJ Jazz Boom Box FEAT. Kenya B. https://youtu.be/U1QB-zBhfMA https://youtu.be/5xfOuqtdBhE

• Zen Den Pop-Up 
• Life-Sized Dart Board 
• Cornhole Tournament 
• Croquet Games 
• Food Trucks 
• Café Dining Area 
• Lamzac Seating

For other It’s Happening! Summer in St. James and Plaza de Cesar Chavez activities, visit our website at www.sanjoseca.gov/itshappening, where you can find a full calendar of activities.

Viva Calle SJ 2017 - September 17th

One of my favorite events of the year returns in just couple of weeks. During Viva Calle SJ, miles of city streets will be completely shut down to let people walk, run, bike, or skateboard down the streets of San Jose.

Viva Calle features multiple activity hubs which are basically festivals-within-a-festival that highlight the local area. This year they will be located in Japantown, Roosevelt Park, the Mexican Heritage Plaza, Alum Rock Village, and Lake Cunningham Park. You can expect live music, vendors, food, activities, bike parking, and good times at each and every one. In between the activity hubs you will still find all sorts of interesting stops, hydration stations, and stores.

The route has changed again this year. It is now just a single line without branching out, and for the first time it will go straight down Santa Clara Street. At 7 miles and five activity hubs, it is the largest Viva Calle yet!

If you are one of the 50 million people that still play PokemonGo, the company that makes the game is leveraging Viva Calle as their first official event in San Jose. I'm about to out myself as a huge nerd, but I use the game when visiting someplace new to find hidden street art and all sorts of points-of-interest that even locals don't know about. It's like a hyper-local Tripadvisor for each block. The game will feature temporary stops and extra pokemon along the route as part of the event.

Viva Calle 2017 takes place on Sunday, September 17th from 10am to 3pm (streets are closed until 4pm). It is completely free and has no designated beginning or end as it's not a race. You can use the handy map below to locate the routes and festivities. For more info, head over here. Hope to see you there!

August 2017 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Adobe Systems will add a fourth tower across the street from its current three-tower headquarters in Downtown San Jose. The new building will allow Adobe to more than double its San Jose headcount and add another 3,000 employees.
• In a matter of a few months, Downtown has added multiple gourmet coffee shops including The Proper Cup at 1 S. Market, Chromatic at 17 N. Second, and Academic Coffee at 499 S. Street. Blue Bottle is also coming to 1 W. Santa Clara. This is in addition to Downtown's already stellar lineup of coffee shops: B2, Bel Bacio, Caffe Frascati, Devine Grind, Philz, Vero's, Voltair, Crema, Social Policy, and Ola's Exotic African Coffee and Tea.
• The MarketCenter has added two new stores, Blaze Pizza and a Wells Fargo Bank.
• Miami Beach Club at 417 S. First has opened a taco bar called Taco-a-go-go.
• Several new business have come to Paseo de San Antonio:
• Gong Cha Tea House replaced Quickly
• Spoonfish Poke is opening this month
• Tacomania has replaced Baja Fresh
• JuiceAlize juice cart is now part San Pedro Square at 153 W. Santa Clara St. on weekdays from 8:30am-3:30pm.
• Erik's DeliCafe now has a second Downtown location in Riverpark Tower I at 333 W. San Carlos.
• City Dance San Jose returns each Thursday from Aug 24-Oct 12, offering free dance lessons at Plaza de Cesar Chavez from 5:30pm-9pm.
• Silicon Valley Pride Festival will take place Aug. 26-27 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez and South First Street.
• Two Bay Area developers have teamed up to propose a 1 million SQFT office compace at 440 W. Julian (behind the San Jose MarketCenter and near SAP Center/Diridon Station).

To read the newsletter, click here!

Silicon Valley Pride 2017

This is going to be one of those better late than never posts! The Silicon Valley Pride festival is still going on today until 6pm at Plaza De Cesar Chavez in Downtown San Jose. Admission is only $5, kids are free, and I'm sure it will be a blast.

First Earl of Sandwich in Northern California coming to Downtown San Jose

One of the hottest sandwich shops in Southern California and Florida has made its way to San Jose. The Earl of Sandwich sign is already hanging at the ground floor of One South Market (the shiny blue tower). The new restaurant will be located next to Proper Cup, a great coffee shop well worth checking out as well.

The sandwich was apparently invented in 1762 by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (now you know how the sandwich got its name). It turns out that this chain was founded in 2004 by two direct descendants of that inventor: Lord John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich, and his son. Now that heritage is coming to San Jose.

We could use more of these unique sandwich shops Downtown like Freshly Baked Eatery, Ike's, and now Earl of Sandwich instead of more Subways. Personally, I'm eyeing that Holiday Turkey sandwich down below.

There is no official ETA on the grand opening yet, but the sign is a good indicator that it won't be long.

Source: The Merc (hat tip to the anonymous commentor)

Sourisseau News: The Lives of Automobiles

Last week we posted a Sourisseau News video about bicycles--this week we have a video about early cars in the San Jose area. The two minute video is embedded below for your enjoyment.

To see an archive of past videos, head over here.

Sourisseau News: The Lives of Automobiles February 2017 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

City Dance 2017

Free outdoor dance classes are returning to Downtown San Jose. Every Thursday between August 24th and October 12th, a different genre of dance will be taught at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. You have everything from Salsa to Hip Hop to Disco. Even Bollywood and Zydeco are on the list this year.

Classes begin at 6pm and the lessons go for about an hour. Then between 7-9pm you can practice what you learned to live music. All are welcome and again, these classes are completely free. If that isn't enough to entice you, there will also be a beer garden and street food.

For more info, head over here.

One Million Sq. Ft. of New Office Downtown?

With news of Google potentially locating next to Diridon Station, suddenly everyone wants a piece of downtown San José! And boy are we ready! A Preliminary Review application came in last month to gain staff’s input on the potential to demolish existing buildings and construct three new 6-story office buildings totaling ONE MILLION square feet at 440 W. Julian Street.

The site is located within the Downtown boundary north of the SAP Center and is adjacent to the Guadalupe River, only separated by Autumn Parkway. The City of San José has designated these properties as Transit Employment Center in the General Plan, meaning that intensive job growth is supported here through high-density office and commercial development. The proposed one million square foot office development meets the intention of the Transit Employment Center land use designation.

The office concept in this proposal boasts having accessible green space on every floor and large terraces that will bring natural light deep into the floorplate (see pictures below). While the renderings are very preliminary, we can already gain a sense of the tapered design showcasing these private green spaces. This type of high-density employment next to Diridon Station would allow employees to take a multitude of transit modes to work: Caltrain, VTA bus rapid transit and light rail, ACE, and eventually BART. Not to mention the connectivity to the Guadalupe River Trail system that many bicyclists use to commute. 

If the developer wishes to proceed with their proposal, the next steps will include filing the following applications, at a minimum, with the City:

1. Rezoning application to change the site’s current HI Heavy Industrial zoning district to a zoning district that supports intensive office uses
2. Site development permit to allow the one million square foot office development

These permits would contain much more detail in regards to the design, circulation of vehicles, parking, landscaping, etc. and would most likely require a community meeting to gain input from the public. The preliminary application currently on file only serves as an informational application to the applicant so that they can get a preliminary analysis from staff. This helps applicants save time and money before submitting an actual development proposal. If the applicant decides to move forward, this project will give everyone an idea of what the City of San José will ask for regarding new development around Diridon and could very well set a precedent for Google moving forward.

-Kimberly Vacca