Silicon Valley Flagship Office Designs

For many decades Silicon Valley has had to put up with bland, generic office buildings that added zero architectural value to the surrounding areas. It looks like all of that is about to change very soon. At least four  potentially iconic office complexes with eye-catching aesthetics are going to be built in Santa Clara County over the next few years. Samsung is building a pair of 10-story buildings in North San Jose where you are never more than one floor away from an outdoor garden and courtyard. Apple is replacing their Cupertino campus with a single, giant, 2.8M SQFT spaceship-like building for 12,000+ employees. Nvidia is honoring the pixel by building two massive triangle-shaped buildings with open floors measuring 250,000 SQFT in Santa Clara. Lastly, Google is building a new ultra-green Bayshore campus in Mountain View with rooftop gardens.

I think this trend will continue as leading valley tech companies try to one-up each other. We will just have to wait and see which building turns out the best from this initial battle of flagship offices. One thing is for certain... the days of mediocre office building being acceptable in Silicon Valley are numbered.

Samsung (San Jose)

Apple (Cupertino)

Nvidia (Santa Clara)

Google (Mountain View)

49ers Draft Bash in San Jose Attracts 7,500 Visitors

For those that doubted the positive impacts from the 49ers moving South, check out the photo below. A staggering 7,500 people packed the San Pedro Square Market to attend the Draft Bash event late last month.

This is a win-win all around! The San Pedro Square Market vendors were completely busy, more people were exposed to San Pedro and a new side of Downtown, San Jose benefits from increased tax dollars and tourism (yes I used that word in the same sentence as San Jose), and the 49ers get to host their Draft Bash is one of the coolest venues in the Bay Area. You know what else is nuts... the 49ers were the ones that approached the San Pedro Square Market to host the event, not the other way around. Expect to see many more events like this one in both Santa Clara AND San Jose, and fewer 49er events in SF.

Source: SVBJ

Saturday Stats: Silicon Valley Unemployment Drops to 2008 Levels

I think it's pretty obvious from the massive amounts of traffic lately that the economic recovery is becoming quite fierce in Silicon Valley. The San Jose metro saw unemployment drop to 7.3% in March down from 9.1% the previous year. Unemployment in only Santa Clara county is now sitting at 7.1%. If you look at the entire state, the average unemployment is currently 9.4%. There was a long stretch of time where unemployment in the Valley surpassed the state average, so this is huge news.

Unlike the 2000 .COM crash and the 2008 burst of the bubble, there are no severe warning indicators that things are about to explode. Hopefully we have learning from our mistakes and the Silicon Valley job market and economy will continue to consistently improve for many years to come.

Source: SJBJ

The San Jose Blog's 4 Year Anniversary!!!!

It's amazing how time goes by. The very first post on The San Jose Blog was four years ago today. That was over 1,500 posts ago. The original mission was simple, show the world that San Jose is a really cool city and deserves a lot more respect than it has been given in the past, both from outsiders and even residents themselves.

2009 was not a great year. Financial markets were dry, real estate was depressed, unemployment was at a 26-year high, and just about every major project in San Jose was either on-hold or cancelled. If you looked at the very core of San Jose, the Downtown residential high-rises were selling at an abysmal rate, and there was little hope that any of the dozen or so planned towers would move forward. Yet, there was still reason to be optimistic.

San Jose has a unique history. 60 years ago, the economy was mostly agrarian and the population consisted of barely 100,000 residents. To put that in perspective San Francisco had 775,000 and Oakland was up to 365,000 people at that time. Over those 60 years, San Jose experienced unprecedented growth to become 10-fold larger and is now the base of one of the strongest if not the strongest economic engines in the world. That is quite a turn around for a little farming town. The one thing that did not grow as quickly as the population was culture and community pride. Even many San Jose residents felt like it was a second class city. Then something happened...

The masses slowly started caring. A culture based around innovation and constant improvement began emerging. Communities of people excited with every new potential San Jose project popped up. The Usuals opened up shop and started selling I "Heart" SJ shirts, and people actually put them on. San Jose started getting ranked on National Top 10 lists: #1 Top Job Market in the US, #1 Happiest City of Young Professionals, #1 City for Patent Creation, #1 Highest Median Household Income, #1 Top Cleantech City in the US, #1 Healthiest City for Women, #1 Safest Large City in the US, #1 Highest Salaries for [Fill in the Blank], etc., etc. etc. Of all the stats, perhaps the one I was most proud of was getting technically and objectively ranked as a "World Class" City for the first time ever.

Now, we are in an era where our culture is growing, our city is growing, and national recognition is growing. Here is a list of some of the things that either currently exist or are in progress today that seemed unfeasible and out of reach four years ago:

• Four completely full residential high-rises Downtown
• A brand new San Jose Earthquakes Stadium
• The San Pedro Square Market
• The South Bay 49ers
• A Downtown with 250 restaurants
• Premier Retail (i.e. launching here before SF and LA) in Santana Row and Valley Fair
• Little Italy
• Art projects of this calibur
• BART to San Jose
• One billion new miles of new bike lanes (don't quote me on the number)
• MUJI Downtown
• Office HQs that look like this
• Virgin and ANA flights at SJC
• A Shark's Stanley Cup Win (had to throw that one in)

And of course, the big news that I have been harassed about for taking so long to mention...

Thanks to David Cheung for the photo. Also read this and this.

ONE SOUTH MARKET BROKE GROUND!!! San Jose is getting a new tower! There will be some sort of TSJB celebration and I will be buying the first round of beers. More details on this soon.

In parting, I would just like to say a huge thanks to Jen, Jarrod, and Alvin for their contributions to this blog over the years; you guys area amazing! Also a heartfelt thanks to all the readers out there for stopping by, for believing in San Jose, and contributing to its future successes. Our city is a better place because of people that believe making a difference is possible. Even something as small as shopping at a local vendor can have a big impact. Happy Friday!

Extreme Networks Getting a San Jose Headquarters

Extreme Networks is moving their corporate headquarters from Santa Clara to a 57,586 SQFT buildig in North San Jose (145 Rio Robles). The company is a leader in Ethernet technologies and sells a variety of switches and wireless solutions. They have manufactured over 30 million Ethernet ports.

As a side benefit, their move will clear the way for Irvine Company to develop up to 800 housing units and 50,000 SQFT of retail/commercial space at the site of the former Santa Clara headquarters.

Source: SVBJ

The Market Beer Co. Now Running at Full Steam!

From: SPSM Blog

San Pedro Square Market Vendor Spotlight: Feelin' thirsty? Check out the newly opened Market Brew Co.

With more than 200 craft beers, the Market Beer Co. is the newest addition to the San Pedro Square Market.  The brews come in 22-oz. bottles, otherwise known as bombers, and shortly many will be available on tap.  Stop by and grab a beer with Jake and the rest of his knowledgeable staff. 

Connect:  /MarketBeerCo

Retro Fitness Opening its first West Coast Gyms in San Jose

Retro Fitness is a unique gym chain with locations primarily in the Northeast and Southern US, but they are planning to branch out to the West Coast. They have chosen San Jose for not one, but two locations to launch their expansion. One will be at Santa Teresa Main Street Shopping Center and the other will be at the corner of Foxworthy and Meridian Avenue.

Their gyms are between 12,000 and 15,000 SQFT--pretty standard--but what makes them different is an '80s motif, specifically '80s music and movie themes. Membership only costs $19.99 a month, including various classes, a cardio movie theater (with again, '80s movies), and access to things like tanning, child sitting, and personal training. Those last three I'm assuming cost extra.

Source: SVBJ

Centerra is Breaking Ground Soon!

We are getting so close to seeing some shovels in the ground Downtown for two high-rise projects. I'm not sure which one to be more excited about. One South Market have a more central location Downtown, but Centerra is going to be located right across the street from the San Pedro Square Market and will very likely make a substantial contribution to the restaurant, retail, and culture scene that is emerging there. Not only will it be supplying more customers, but the project will be adding retail of its own facing the Market. This is unlikely, but I think it would be pretty amazing if they are able to keep the same small-vendor configuration as the SPSM for their retail to create more synergy in the area.

Anyway, here are some quick facts about Centerra:

• 347 units
• 21 stories
• 80% of the units will be one or two bedroom
• Average unit size is 935 SQFT
• Most units will have private balconies
• 7,000 SQFT of retail facing the San Pedro Square Market
• The parking structure is in the center of the building and is completely wrapped in apartment units, hiding it entirely (sweet!)
• There will be a special area for dogs (also, Andy's Pet Shop is across the street)
• A bike shop/storage area is going to be located on the ground floor
• Other amenities include a pool, hot tub, kitchen area, and gym

They are targeting the ground breaking for summer and it will take about two years to build out. Can't wait!

Source: SVBJ