January 2015 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Raul Peralez became the new City Council representative for District 3 (Downtown San Jose), replacing Sam Liccardo who is now our Mayor. He has served as a San Jose police officer for 8 years and has 10 years of experience as a teacher. His top priorities are improving public safety, economic vitality, rebuilding relations between the city and unions, public transit, ending homelessness, and affordable housing. If he could change one thing about Downtown it would be to see taller buildings and having a "skyscraper" downtown [Josh: I'm starting to like this guy].
• The San Pedro Square Market and SJSU earn Golden Nail awards which are given to projects that add character and delight to Downtown.
• The City is offering a construction tax waiver to the first developer to build a non-hotel commercial high-rise more than 150 feet tall (this incentive can be valued between $800,000 to $1.5 million). Office vacancy Downtown plummeted from 23% to 13% in 2014.
• The City Council has banned bikes on sidewalks in order to make Downtown safer for pedestrians.
• Broadway San Jose is enjoying a record-breaking season. The final week of "WICKED" in San Jose brought in $1.7 million, which was the highest grossing Broadway show in the country that week. More records are expected to be broken this summer with "Book of Mormon."
• Dice.com is going to move its headquarters from Santa Clara to 16,000 SQFT at 225 W. Santa Clara Street, accommodating up to 100 employees.
• Groundwerx is going to trim 874 sycamore trees lining First and Second streets over the next month.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

BART or Automated Transit Network?

The Merc had an article last week entitled "Affordable transitt will help close gap between rich, poor in South Bay." I think that title may be a bit misleading since it is actually a proposal to completely change the plan for BART to Silicon Valley - Phase 2. Instead of spending $4 billion to tunnel underneath Downtown San Jose, the article points out that running BART west from Milpitas to the San Jose Airport and then Diridon above ground would only cost $1.6 billion. However, that is not the interesting part. The real fascinating proposal is not building the BART extension at all and instead building using $1.6 billion to build a 100 station Automated Transit Network (PRT system) that would blanket a huge portion of San Jose and be placed above roadways.

While I am a huge advocate for BART Downtown, I strongly believe that automated systems will be the ideal transportation of the future and would be willing to sacrifice BART for it if given a choice. Check out the article over here and let us know what your thoughts are.

Many thanks to Francisco Gonzalez for sending this in!

Hawaiian Poke Bowl Coming to the SoFA Market!

A vendor specializing in Hawaiian Poke Bowls (spicy ahi tuna salads) will be opening up next to the Falafel Bar and Vero's Coffee in the SoFA Market. This should be ready sometime in the next few months and I can't wait for this place to open up. To follow more news related to Downtown's newest urban market, follow the SoFA Market Facebook Page.

Santa Clara Family Justice Center Photos

There are some new photos of the Santa Clara Family Justice Center by "Cardinal2007" at the San Jose Development Forum. It looks like it just hit full height and you clearly see that it will have a decent impact on the skyline when completed! The new court building will consolidate multiple other courthouses around San Jose and open up new opportunities for development Downtown.

Downtown Ice with Google Glass

What happens when you mix Google Glass and Downtown Ice? Check out the video below to find out. The unique ice rink in Downtown San Jose is open until January 11th, so you still have a full week to enjoy it for yourself!

Saturday Stats: San Jose One of the Top 10 Happiest Cities!

Our first Saturday Stat of 2015 is a big one. National Geographic has placed San Jose in the Top 10 Happiest Cities... not in the US but in the World! Also included in the list is the Gold Coast of Australia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Auckland in New Zealand, and Dubai. Don't ask me what the criteria was because it was not disclosed in the article. However, it did mention two dozen community gardens in San Jose, plenty of organic produce, and lots of sunshine.

Source: National Geographic, hat-tip to Todd Horvitz!

Univision Moving from SF to San Jose

In a move that probably should have happened decades ago, Univision has decided to move its Bay Area headquarters from San Francisco to San Jose. Not only will this allow the Spanish media network to be closer to most of its audience, but it will also substantially reduce costs.

Univision will be moving its studios and radio stations to 1940 Zanker Road in North San Jose. It is expecting 60-65 people to work from the new location after the move is completed in the fall. For more info, hit the source link below.

Source: The Merc

Welcome to 2015 San Jose!

Happy New Year everyone! 2014 was a great year for San Jose and I'm optimistic that 2015 is going to be even better. Here is a look ahead to the next 12 months:

• 2nd Generation Residential High-Rises - It has been a long time since a high-rise residential project opened up in San Jose. This year both One South and Centerra will start leasing and will bring a thousand new residents to our city's urban core.
• Half-a-Dozen More Cranes Downtown - 2014 is the first year I can remember since the early 2000s where we had three cranes in the air Downtown. 2015 will have many more. Silvery Towers, the AC Hotel, Marshal Square, the Post & San Pedro Tower, Parkview Towers, Symphony Towers, and Mill Creek are all expected to start construction this year.
• Retail and Office will Thrive Downtown - We are finally building enough critical mass Downtown to make retail succeed, and just about every project mentioned above will have a retail component to help fill gaps between retail centers. Office vacancies will likely fall below 10% as more tech startups realize what a great value and experience Downtown San Jose provides.
• Stadiums Galore - Last year we have the grand opening of Levi's Stadium, which is bringing multiple world-class events a stones-throw away from North San Jose. Our hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities are also benefactors here. The new Earthquakes Stadium also goes live in 2015, bringing even more events and quality professional sports to San Jose (along with the largest outdoor bar in North America).
• More Great Restaurants - Last year we got First to Market, Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse, Spuds, Garlic Bread, Seven Seas Sushi, Nick the Greek, and a lot of other great places. 2015 is going to be the year of the Urban Markets with the SoFA Market realizing its potential and a new Market going up by SJSU.
• More flights at SJC - We got Tokyo in 2013 and we're about due for at least one new international route this year. You can also expect more routes and flights and the economy continues to thrive.
• BRT Launches - We will have our first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line this year, which will run between Downtown and Eastridge. BRT combines the convenience of Light Rail with low construction costs, and may be key to dramatically improving public transit in the short term. More BRT lines and the BART extension area also on their way.
• The Completion of Santana Row - The last major development projects to complete the original vision for Santana Row should be under construction this year. Not to worry, Federal Realty will soon start working on a brand new project across next to the Winchester Mystery House.

That's a wrap, hope you all have an amazing first day of 2015!

From Lastlightbender's Instagram Page