Great America 2020 Announcements

Last week I had the opportunity to learn more about Great America's 2020 plans for events and new attractions. The big news is the expansion and re-branding of the water park from Boomerang Bay to South Bay Shores. Just about everything in the existing park will be updated and they are in the process of doubling the size of the water park. There will be seven new water attractions this year: four drop slides, two tube slides, and a kid-friendly lagoon area with private cabanas. Admission is included

They also announced three new festivals:

• Spring Fiesta – This three-weekend-long festival celebrates Hispanic culture with authentic food, live music and entertainment. Each weekend brings a different focus: Dia del Nino (April 25–26) offers kid-friendly crafts, games and activities; Cinco de Mayo (May 2–3) brings traditional, folkloric dance; and Latin Music Festival (May 9–10) showcases Bay Area performers.
• Monster Jam® Thunder Alley™ – Popular Monster Jam® trucks roll into Great America this summer, offering a larger-than-life experience where park guests can get nose-to-grille, sit inside and even take an adrenaline-charged ride in a Monster Jam truck. Meet-and-greets with drivers, a themed kids play area and the Monster Jam garage round out the limited-time event, which takes place June 20–July 12.
• Carnivale at Orleans Place – Authentic New Orleans food, glittering floats and costumed street performers come together in a unique nighttime festival that marries the best of Great America’s fan-favorite Taste of Orleans event with the excitement and vibrancy of Mardi Gras. Highlighting the festival is the Spectacle of Color full-scale parade, with extravagantly decorated floats and performers who draw the audience into the action. The exclusive event takes place nightly July 18–August 2.

The "Red, White and Brews" beer festival, Halloween Haunt, and WinterFest will all return this year. Halloween Haunt will get a brand new Asian-themed maze called Shadowlands. Oh, and several new food offerings will be available throughout the year such as fish tacos and sesame chicken on a crispy fried wonton. I hear Micheladas will be available as well inside the park.

It seems like an action packed year, I'm especially looking forward to Carnivale and Halloween Haunt this year!

For more info head over here.

San Jose gets first round of tiny homes for the homeless

Homelessness is one of Silicon Valley's top issues, and it seems to be getting worse with over 6,000 individuals living on Santa Clara County streets. Fortunately, San Jose is taking a novel approach by building inexpensive tiny homes to house the less fortunate.

The first community of tiny homes is off of Mabury Road and consists of 40 "sleeping cabins," showers, a shared kitchen, laundry, and computers. Comcast is also donating WiFi service. The community is expected to serve 120 people a year (each resident can stay up to 4 months).

A second project is already underway near Felipe Court at the intersection of 101, 280, and 680. 

It's not a perfect solution but is helping move us in the right direction. I wish developers would also build inexpensive 150-200 SQFT studio apartments to provide additional housing options for everyone.

Source: San Jose Inside

Camera 12 redevelopment renders

Urban Catalyst revealed a few new renders of their plans for the former Camera 12 site, and it looks much better than what I expected. The shape of the theater is preserved but two additional floors are being added in the interior for additional office space (73,000 SQFT total). Rooftop patios will now be accessible from the 4th and 5th floors. Oh, and the 13,000 SQFT of ground-floor retail will extend onto the Paseo.

I still miss the movie theater, but this looks like it will greatly help activate the Paseo area. The project should be complete around the 2nd quarter of 2021. It is one of seven Urban Catalyst projects scheduled to break ground this year, all of which are in Downtown San Jose. The company plans to invest $700 million into San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Diridon-SJC People Mover concepts

Last year, Mayor Sam Liccardo started collecting innovative ideas for connecting Diridon to both SJC and Stevens Creek (Santana Row, Valley Fair, Apple HQ, etc.). He received several interesting proposals ranging from autonomous pods, monorails, handing trains, and hyperloops. The goal would be to use a system with significantly lower costs than the current mass transit options and a shorter deployment time.

The only option that I think is truly feasible at a low cost would be a loop (not hyperloop), which the Boring Company is currently building in Las Vegas to connect various parts of their sprawling convention center. It might be possible for a couple hundred million (including stations) and everything would be underground, minimizing conflicts with other modes of transportation and completely taking weather out of the equation. It would also be scaleable to other parts of San Jose with much additional effort.

Our current transit options are failing us, so I have to applaud the city for thinking outside the box to make these two transit hubs together as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

Source: SVBJ

Eataly coming to San Jose

With two very successful food halls in Downtown San Jose and Santana Row across the street, Valley Fair might be feeling a bit left out when it comes to the South Bay food scene. Fortunately, their big expansion that starts rolling out in March has a major focus on cuisine. Several flagship restaurants have been announced, but the biggest addition will be an Italian Marketplace called Eataly.

The market clocks in at an impressive 51,000 SQFT. Eataly is large enough to house multiple restaurants, cafes, food stalls, bars, and take-out counters. If you're a foodie that likes Italian food, this may be your new favorite location in the mall. It will also be the only Eataly location in Northern California.

Eataly San Jose will open sometime in 2021.

Source: SVBJ

10th Street Distillery in San Jose

San Jose now has a whiskey distillery, which apparently is our first since Prohibition. It sits near our craft breweries at 2131 S. 10th St., just one building over from Strike Brewing. Two tech engineers decided to follow their dream and created 10th Street Distillery to make Scottish-style spirits right here in San Jose.

They carry a couple different types of whiskies, a Peated Single Malt (smokey) that has won multiple awards and a STR Single Malt that is smooth and slightly sweet. Total Wine & More as well as several liquor stores have started carrying the product. You can also find them in San Jose's top craft cocktail bars such as Haberdasher, Paper Plane, Miniboss, 55 South, District, and Five Points.

10th Street Distillery doesn't have a public tasting room setup yet, but they do offer tours and tasting events if you sign up on their website over here.

Former Camera 12 Theaters space will become office and retail

It's a bittersweet solution to a key space in the middle of Downtown San Jose, but at least it is better than the empty shell that exists today. Camera 12 was my favorite movie theater, and one of the few three-story movie theaters in the country. I was hoping this could be repurposed into a high-end theater with luxury seats, cocktails, and upscale dining similar to the Showplace ICON in Valley Fair. However, it appear Urban Catalyst has a firm plan for the 70,330 SQFT site.

The plan is to convert the space into a five-story building called "Paseo." This will be interesting to see executed given the existing configuration. They will likely have to gut the whole building. The top four floors will support 73,000 SQFT of office space while the ground floor will have 15,000 SQFT of retail.

I am excited about what the retail opportunities could be, especially given the whole street is starting to fill up. Scott's Seafood is moving to the former Social Policy space on the same block and Hapa Musubi is a few doors down (one of Downtown's most popular eateries, often completely selling out of food daily). It may no longer be a movie theater, but I'm certain this can be an anchor for urban activity Downtown.

Source: SVBJ

Guadalupe River Park - Adopt a Rose

Looking for a great last-minute Valentine's Day idea? The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy is offering a $60 package that includes adopting a rose (post your personal message in the garden), a box of chocolates, a cookie, and a free rose each month for a year.

Best of all, the proceeds go towards support the park and the purchase is partially tax deductible. You don't have to tell your significant other that last part.

To learn more and to order this special Valentine's Day package, head over here.