Two great options in play for the Camera 12 Cinemas site

Change is always an opportunity to improve, even when the change initially seems bleak. When Camera 12 closed last September, it was a shock to the Downtown community--especially given how much livelier Downtown has become over the past several years. Now, there are two options on the table that actually would be a significant improvement to the area.

Option #1 - Luxury Movie Theater

This is exactly what Downtown needs, a destination theater that does not exist elsewhere in San Jose to draw more visitors to the area as well as provide a great local amenity for residents. It sounds like something similar to an Alamo Drafthouse is being floated as a possible suitor for the space. The theater would have luxury seating, food, and alcohol. This was the first thought that came to mind when we first heard Camera 12 was closing.

Option #2 - SJSU Student Housing Tower

San Jose State is interested in building a 20-story student housing project on the site. The building would be a mixed-use as it gets with 14 floors of housing, 4 floors of offices, a Sky Terrace, retail/restaurant space on the ground floor, and underground parking. This would bring a large number of students into the Downtown San Jose core and further intertwine the University with the community.

There is also a 3rd option, and that is to do both Option #1 and Option #2. Based on the first rendering, the tower can accommodate a luxury theater on the ground floor, which can even be used for SJSU events and classes during off-peak hours. If it comes together, it will not only fill the hole left by Camera 12's departure, but be a new amenity for all San Joseans to enjoy.

Source: The Merc, hat tip to Josh Russell for sending this in

San Jose Downtown Association 2016 Year in Review

The video below is an excellent recap of what has happened in Downtown San Jose this past year, current challenges, and what we have to look forward to in the near future. The speaker is Scott Knies, the Executive Director of the San Jose Downtown Association. While we did not have many new projects move forward in 2016, there are a large number queued up for 2017. Overall it was a great year and I highly recommend watching the video.

Scott Knies Year in review 2016 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We hope that you and your family enjoy the holidays this year.

For a fun little adventure, you can check out the most decked out holiday decorations in San Jose along with a map and addresses over here.

May all your holiday wishes come true!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you and your families have a very merry Christmas this year!

Below is a delightful holiday card from our friends at WMS Media featuring Christmas in the Park.


Holiday Card from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

San Jose is the Milken Institute's #1 pick for "Best-Performing Cities"

The San Jose metro has once again dominated a list of best-performing cities. The authors of the study mention that innovation and entrepreneurship are core to our success and that we were first in the nation when it comes to wage growth over the last five years. Note, that is wage growth. That means that in addition to having the highest wages in the US, they are also continuing to grow faster than other regions.

While it is not great to have all of our eggs in one techie basket, it is nice when that basket happens to be the hottest industry right now. San Jose accounted for 1 in 8 new tech jobs for the whole country during 2015. The average salary in the San Jose metro is $111,000. The average for the nation is $60,300.

Top 9 Cities in the Milken Study
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Provo, UT, and Austin, TX (tie)
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
Raleigh, NC
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
Fort Collins, CO
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA

Source: SVBJ

Empty Downtown San Jose storefront will be activated for two months

Local Color is a two-month project to reactivate underutilized retail space in Downtown San Jose. It is being put together by Exhibition District, a collective of artists that have been doing a great job beautifying Downtown recently.

This project will take the former Ross space at 27 S. First Street and turn it into creative community workshops, shared studio space, and pop-up bazaars. Property-owner Mike Sarimsakci wants to eventually build a residential tower on the site, but until shovels break ground this is a great way to re utilize empty space. Local Color is sponsored by the Knight Foundation and brought to the community in partnership with the San Jose Downtown Association.

The art studios are towards the back of the building while the retail sections are up front. There is already a 111-foot mural along the north wall. Art classes are available Wednesday and Thursday, yoga on Friday, and performances (including dance parties) on Friday and Saturday. To see a full list of events, head over to the Local Color Facebook page.

Sourisseau News: The German Community in San Jose

Did you know the oldest social organization in San Jose was created for German immigrants? The site still exists today and partially houses one of the hottest new restaurants Downtown, Ludwigs German Table. The two-minute video below provides a great overview of German contributions to early San Jose.

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


Sourisseau News: The German Community in San Jose October 2016 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Downtown San Jose Directory and Interactive Map

San Jose's Office of Economic Development has just updated the official Downtown San Jose interactive map that was originally produced for Super Bowl 50 earlier this year. The map will be available at City Hall, the Convention Center, Team San Jose locations, Diridon Station, local libraries, and online.

The updated map includes a revised directory and several new additions such as:

• Bike routes
• EV charging stations
• Zip Car locations
• Pictograms for Guadalupe River Park, the Historic District, and Avaya Stadium

You can access the map right over here.