Mommy Foodie Fair with Dishcrawl on May 6th in Downtown SJ

Let’s face it…Moms are serious superheroes!  

They multitask like no other human on Earth: they cook dinner in the middle of doing 3 loads of laundry, check their children’s spelling homework, vacuum and clean till their house sparkles, all while making sure that no fingers get shoved in electric sockets!  

For these and way more reasons, we take off our hats to all you Moms out there!  

So here is our little gift to you…a special Mommy Foodie Fair with Dishcrawl!  

Come and enjoy networking, laughing, and celebrating your awesomeness with other local Moms!  

We’re working in partnership with City Moms Blog to create an experience for moms all across the nation…in 25 different cities on May 6th and 7th, over 2000 moms will come together for a Mommy Foodie Fair!  

For only $30, enjoy amazing hors d’oeuvres, discover incredible new food and fam ily friendly brands to taste the night away!  

Now, here are the details:  

Downtown San Jose
Date: May 6, 2014, 6:30-8:30pm
Tickets: Register Here

Enjoy a night just for yourself or invite your fave mom…we can’t wait to see you there!

--
Evan Morris
Bay Area Community Manager
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Watch some fun food videos on Dishcrawl.tv! 

New Hilton Planed for North San Jose

Haven't had enough of local hotel news? Well, yet another hotel development is coming to San Jose on North First Street. This one will be close to @First, the largest cluster of tech companies in the world, and of course Levi's Stadium. The new hotel will be a Hilton brand, likely Homewood Suites, and have around 145 rooms.

Also worth noting from the Merc article is the fact that there are currently 17 hotels with a total of 3,500 rooms in the pipeline for San Jose. Here is some perspective: during the 15 year period between 1993 and 2008, San Jose added about 3,000 hotel rooms (yes, even factoring in the the .com days).

Source: The Merc

San Jose Mercury News May Return Downtown

Last October The Merc sold its 36-acre North San Jose HQ to Super Micro Computer, necessitating that it find a new home in 2014. Apparently there are two sites in contention. One would be close to its existing location and the other would be the Legacy Civic Towers at 75 E. Santa Clara. It seems that they are leaning towards leasing 40,000 SQFT at the Downtown location--marking a return home after a 50 year absence.

The location makes perfect sense. Not only is it close to City Hall and where a substantial amount of local news is happening, you have branding opportunities on the top of the building (remember Earthlink), easy access by multiple modes of public transit, all the amenities workers could ask for, and room to grow. They would even have an Ike's Sandwiches and ISO: Beers on the ground floor of the building! Let's hope the Merc makes the right decision.

Source: SVBJ

BREAKING: Giants + A's Decide to Build a Joint Stadium in Downtown San Jose!

In a shocking twist to the territorial dispute between the SF Giants and the A's, a compromise has been reached that absolutely no one saw coming. The Giants and A's are proposing to build a joint stadium where both teams will play in Downtown San Jose! Each team will play half of their home games in the new stadium and the other half at AT&T Park in San Francisco. This will put territorial issues to rest as both teams will essentially be sharing both markets.

The joint ballpark will feature state of the art technology similar to Levi's stadium and will be wrapped in LEDs and digital signs that can change the entire look-and-feel to match the home team. AT&T Park will receive a similar transformation. With access to Caltrain, BART, Lightrail, Amtrack, and BRT... this will be one of the best connected stadiums in the country. Also, the new Downtown San Jose stadium and AT&T Park will be conveniently connected by Caltrain. This story is just developing, more info to come!

For further details, check out the source links below.

Sources: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

(For more April Fool's posts click the links above)

Santana Row 2

Santana Row is one of the most successful mixed-use projects of all time in the US. It has been emulated by many, yet nothing has really taken off quite like this ten-year ongoing project. Federal Realty, the developers that continue to own and operate the Row, have reached a physical limit in expansion opportunity. After this next round of development which will include three giant office complexes and a flagship retail space to cap the street, they will be completely out of physical space needed to continue to expand. Well, that is until the announcement below.

Federal Realty is taking over 11.6 acres fronting Winchester where the current Century Theaters sit. I know there is a lot of controversy about this space. Personally, I think if it is going to be redeveloped then the ideal developer would be Federal Realty. They have clearly shown that they could make a successful project with a lot of complex moving parts come together. While they have not made any announcement as to what their exact plans are for the area, I think offices will be a greater part of the mix than the original Santana Row. San Jose needs more jobs at the moment than residential, especially in that general Midtown/Uptown area. I also think there is potential to integrate the new BRT into the new development, which I really hope they consider give the lack of current public transit access. A well integrated BRT line would be the next best thing to having Light Rail running between Downtown San Jose and Santana Row.

Regardless of whether you or for or against this project, this will definitely be something interesting to keep tabs on.

Federal Realty Investment Trust's West Coast president Jeff Berkes has issued the following statement:

 “We are excited to announce that Federal Realty has entered into a long-term ground lease with the owners of the 11.6-acre site fronting Winchester Boulevard, opposite Santana Row, that is currently occupied by Century Theaters.  We are working with the City of San Jose to explore several different development alternatives that will complement our existing property, Santana Row, and the surrounding community.  We look forward to commencing the public process. We have no further comment at this time.”

-- Jeff Berkes, President, West Coast Federal Realty Investment Trust

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.

The Wizard of Oz and Twister @ Hoover Theater

Playful People Productions has two family-oriented shows coming up at the Historic Hoover Theater.  The first will be a traditional musical rendition of The Wizard of Oz performed by their youth cast next weekend. The second is Twister, a parody performance by their teen and adult cast the following week (the Saturday show will benefit the Cindy Mulcahy Scholarship Fund). More information and links to tickets below.

Playful People Productions Presents:
The Wizard of Oz

After a tornado sweeps Dorothy Gale from her Kansas home, she lands over the rainbow and wakes up in Land of Oz. Dorothy and her three newfound friends journey on a quest to find heart, brains, courage, and most importantly, home. Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and her little dog Toto, as they journey through the magical land of Oz to meet the Wizard and obtain their heart’s desire. Join us for a musical adventure for the whole family!

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

Show Times:
Friday, April 4th  7:00pm
Saturday, April 5th 10:00am,  2:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, April 6th 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

Playful People Productions ALSO Presents:
Twister – a Wizard of Oz Parody 

After a tornado sweeps Dorothy Gale from her Kansas home, she lands over the rainbow and lands in Oz.  But the tornado has followed her to Oz and it keeps mixing up Dorothy and her three new-found friends on their quest to find heart, courage, brains and most importantly, home. Come along with us as we see the world over the rainbow in a whole new way in this mixed up twist on this classic musical. You will laugh out-loud and tap your feet to some familiar tunes for this surprising evening in Oz.
All Shows at the Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave  San Jose, CA 95126

Show Times:
Friday, April 11th  7:00pm
Saturday, April 12th  2:00pm and 7:00pm*

Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net
$15 per person in advance

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)
$20 per person

For questions: barb@galiotto.com

* This show will be a fund raiser for the Cindy Mulcahy Scholarship Fund. This fund provides tuition assistance for Participants in need who so financial assistance so everyone can enjoy the excitement of live theater.

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.

Playful People Productions is run by mother-daughter team, Barbara Galiotto & Katie D' Arcey, who between them have approx 50 years experience in the musical theatre world. Both are Positive Discipline trained & worked as early Childhood Educators as well as in theatre. Both have worked as professional directors with children's theatre for many years.

For each production, Playful People Productions employs professional designers, artists, choreographers and directors to guide our students. The company also hires experienced college & high school students to do jobs in the production such as directors, stage managers, lighting, make-up, & set designers, choreographers and assistants. This allows students to gain work experiences in all aspects of theatre. The goals of Playful People Productions are: to provide the community with a variety of performing opportunities for children, youth & families to experience; to challenge young people in the community; provide a safe, caring environment; and to involve parents in a wholesome, well-rounded activity. The founders believe that a good theatre experience will greatly improve the lives of the children, youth and families in our community.

Skyline Condos

Housing prices in Silicon Valley are astronomical, but there are still a few good deals in town. Skyline was converted from a rental building to condos not long ago, and their one-bedrooms start at $370k. They also have special financing available that lets buyers own a home for just 3% down.

What I like about this location is that it is a stonesthrow away from both Downtown San Jose and Willow Glen, and it is right on both the Caltrain line and Light Rail. I heard that there can be some noise from the trains for some of the units, but besides that it looks like a great place to live at a surprisingly low price. The amenities include open floor plans, granite kitchen countertops, an outdoor kitchen/BBQ, and a swimming pool that they are adding by summer.

Speaking of the pool, they are doing a groundbreaking party & BBQ on April 5th, from 11am to 12:45pm. You can find out more info about this event over here. To learn more about the condos themselves, visit www.skylinesanjose.com.

Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranked #5 Best City for Overall Well-Being

Gallup has ranked the best and worst cities for "well-being" and San Jose did quite well. The data is based on more than 500,000 interviews where people were asked about their emotional and physical health, their job satisfactions, community safety, and access to food, shelter, and health care. In overall well-being, San Jose came in 5th while SF landed the 9th spot on the list.

The top 10 cities for overall well-being:

1. Provo-Orem, Utah
2. Boulder, Colo.
3. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
4. Honolulu
5. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
7. Naples-Marco Island, Fla.
8. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
9. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif.
10. Lincoln, Neb.

Source: USA Today, Hat-tip to Barclay Livker for sending this in!