Tower #1 is rumored to be The Carlysle in San Pedro square right between the San Pedro Square Market and Axis. Given the ridiculous success of the still very incomplete Market, this is going to be a hot location. This will be a 21-story apartment tower with
Tower #2 is right in the middle of Downtown on Santa Clara and Market. KT Properties is planning a $75 million, 22-story apartment building with 485 units. There will be 6,000 sqft of ground floor retail and two floors of underground parking. I'm really excited about this location as it is the first residential high-rise on Santa Clara street and will go a long way to improving the conditions of Downtown's main avenue. It also will have the unique attribute of being only a 5-10min walk away from absolutely everything Downtown.
Downtown renters will have some tough decisions to make when these next two building are up. Oh, and Sam Liccardo is implying there may be even more to come.
Source: SJBJ, The Registry
Exciting news. Can't wait to hear about other potential developments, too.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading about towers being built behind the abandoned church facing St. James Park (I think it was the Church of Christ, Scientist?) a few years ago, and then never heard anything since. Do you know if something is coming here soon? It does have a Barry Swanson sign in front of it...
Last I heard he is just waiting on the money. There are also 3 towers in North San Pedro that are pretty much ready to go, just waiting funding.
DeleteGood news indeed Josh on the two towers. You know, once Cisco Field (at either Diridon or NSP/Brandenburg) becomes a reality (ie approved and imminent) you'll see a building boom in downtown San Jose like never before. Exciting times are upon us my friend...
ReplyDeleteThe Barry Swenson Builder website has 12000 sq ft of retail for the Carlsyle. Originally they had it on the east and south and east sides. I wonder if they might flip the south side to the north side to match the Market.
ReplyDeleteAh, great news! Will update the post.
DeleteThe public notice at the building site also states that ~12K of retail is planned.
DeleteAWESOME news! I'm especially exited about 1 South Market.
ReplyDeleteImagine the kind of activity we'll see if HSR & A's become a reality.
Don't forget BART!
DeleteWow, talk about two ends of the spectrum. Another hideous, cheaply built tower by Berry Swenson. On the other hand we have a beautiful, modern looking building going up on Santa Clara Street. Glad to see something of The 88s caliber going up.
ReplyDeleteUse of the term, tower, cracks me up... a 21 story tower? And by the way, this post says 22 stories, but the Business Journal article indicates 21. These projects are far from approved in a city that is notoriously slow. When do residents get a chance to weigh in on the design?
ReplyDeleteSorry hater, but they've been approved for awhile.
DeleteYes, we know, Jason, our skyline will always be restricted to 21-24 stories "towers". But it's OK, I still love this city and its "towers". Seriously, why be so negative? Why be so trivially picky about terminology?
DeleteJust relax and enjoy the upswing...
I have given up on actual "towers" being built in San Jose, and to be honest, SJ doesn't really need them, it NEEDS density. This is a great start, but we could use a lot more buildings of a similar scale stretching from downtown to 101. Keep 'em coming.
DeleteAs Downtown expands outward, it will be possible to break the 300 foot barrier and go beyond 25 story building. The Five Wounds area would be a prime location for some taller buildings when BART arrives.
DeleteAwesome! Glad to hear of forward progress here in downtown San Jose!
ReplyDeleteDear Jason (and other SJ Haters),
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the negativity? Yes, a twenty-two story building is a tower. If you haven't already learned, this height cap has nothing to do with developers' confidence, or lack thereof, in selling high rise living in San Jose. Rather, the limitation is based on complex FAA TERPS (Terminal Instrument Procedures) OEI (one engine inoperative) procedures for aircraft operating out of SJC.
It is my personal belief that a city's worth is measured by more than the height of its tallest buildings. I'm happy to see that other developers share this sentiment..
Notwithstanding, if you need taller buildings to be happy about the city in which you reside, I here LA has some tall buildings.
Regards,
SJ Optimist
Last summer I found that the most interesting places in London, Paris, and Dublin are typically in zones where most buildings are no more than 5 or 6 stories tall.
DeleteTwo New Downtown San Jose High-Rises May Break Ground This Year. Keyword "May". I'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeletePS: Where's my bowling alley?
Exactly. The bowling alley, restaurants that never open, the apartments on St. James Park, Fresh & Easy, etc. The things that are for sure are Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree. Why? Our city government leadership doesn't live in downtown proper, doesn't have a clue and defaults to accepting whatever janky business wants to sign a lease and hang up a vinyl banner. Yeah, these projects sound great, but the reality - and I live and work downtown - how many others of you do - is incredibly discouraging.
DeleteJason, I work in downtown, though I live in South San Jose :) Yes, I do see the downtown scene after the normal working hours. It's pretty quiet :)
DeleteThough, being a San Jose resident since 1991 (when I was a wee kid), the changes are quite apparent. Heck, the skyline is VERY DIFFERENT now as opposed to 1991.
There HAS been VISIBLE HARD progress, as agonizingly slow (and often misdirected) as they are.
Truth of the matter is that we are still very early in on this rebuild of the downtown core. Between the three big Bay Area cities, San Jose is the youngest "big city", BY FAR. Let's give it time! San Francisco and Oakland weren't built over 25 or 30 years, they were built over more than a century.
Someone is going to snicker about San Jose being a "big city". Get over it, it IS a "big city", and has been for a long while now. It has every amenities known to men excluding having a waterfront or romantic-looking hilly terrains. And that's OK, it isn't San Jose's fault that it's landlocked and sits in the middle of a valley...
Right now, let's try to bring more occupants into the downtown core first, and the rest I'm sure will come.
I'm not blindly being an SJ homer, I know what my city offers and does not offer. But weirdly, I find that there are more anti-SJ people living inside SJ than outside of it!
Every city/towns I have traveled to, their residents are fiercely proud of them, warts and all. Yet in SJ, I don't see this "pride". I'm not talking about bashing our chest in proclaiming our love for the city, I'm talking about a more subtle pride, keep-your-love-inside-and-let-it-emanates-outward kind of pride.
Maybe instead of worrying about SJ doing right by us, we should concentrate on us doing right by SJ...just a bit of food for thoughts...
Oh, and sorry for the essay :)
I feel you. It just seems that the minute you speak plainly or describe it as it is, folks get so defensive and bent out of shape. It doesn't serve any purpose to mask the reality of living and working here.
DeleteI am doing all the right things by the city. I am part of a double/big income household. Truth is, I can't even buy a suit in this "city" to wear to my job. Ross?! Any other type of shopping? Get in your car and drive... Walking to a nice place for dinner is tricky. Yes, there are a handful of decent restaurants, but most convert to some kind of lame club scene that caters to people who don't live in my neighborhood only to drink too much and start fights.
So would I buy a condo at the 88, even though I can? No. Would I sign a lease in one of these new buildings, probably no.
I see these little starts... San Pedro Market, etc., but there's no overall plan. Residents are not engaged. Asking if there is an architectural review on these new apartments is a legitimate question. I am not being a downer. I am trying to make a point that the city shouldn't lay on its back and accept crap like Dollar Tree, businesses with vinyl banners flapping in the wind, because they can't afford a real sign, cops that glare at me when I am walking home late at night on a weekend.
So yeah, tall buildings aside, I want to live in a city to take advantage of urban living. San Jose could be a great city, no doubt, but it's not wrong to pick and choose what type of development makes the most longterm sense.
Where is the San Jose Blog for People Who Actually Live and Work There?
Sorry for my essay.
Beggars cant be choosers.
DeleteBut...beggars can live in bubbles :)
+1 Jason
DeleteSan Jose suffers from a lack of standards and I don't quite understand why. There are so many intelligent and innovative people here, yet when it comes to architecture, food, urban planning, etc. we seem to fall short or are painfully behind. Don't bite my head off, but when compared to world class cities we definitely fall short. Hell, we even fall short when compared to smaller and 'second tier' cities like Portland, Austin, Minneapolis, etc.
I'm sure this post will be labeled as 'hater' post, but it's not. I love San Jose. I am born and raised here and have high hopes for it, but I am still the first to admit San Jose is still searching for an identity. And to say it is because it is a young city is laughable. There have been plenty of years and generations, not to mention booms, here to develop a thriving downtown with a sense of place. I guess that's why this -"Yet in SJ, I don't see this "pride"" - makes sense to me. There isn't enough to grasp here and to be proud of yest to find that civic pride so many cities have.
Jason,
DeleteI think people on this blog get defensive because it's one of the only places where anyone tries to be positive about San Jose. We hear the hate all the time. No need to add to it. Maybe try writing with a little more respect and people will spend more time thinking about your admittedly valid points.
Bottom line: if you goal is to be a jerk, don't act surprised when you're treated like one. If your goal is to add to the discussion about San Jose's future, don't be a jerk.
@ Jon... I'm not going to finesse my message so it sounds nice enough for you. I wasn't being a jerk, and didn't feel like I was being treated like one until reading your message.
DeleteThis can be a conversation among people who care about seeing the city improve, despite coming at it from different angles. We can't have a meaningful conversation about this by speaking only in positive terms that ignore the problems that hold us back from being better or even great.
Lesson learned. We'll just speak politely about news and pretty pictures and never question a thing.
@ Jon, I'm the guy who works in SJ downtown but live in South SJ, with the "pride" comments. I'd just like to defend Jason's point of view regarding living and working in downtown.
DeleteIf you're like us who works in downtown everyday, you would know it really is quiet as a mouse once the workday ends.
I have to commend Jason on his WORKING AND LIVING in downtown SJ. I think he would have the absolute best viewpoint as to how that neighborhood is. Truth be told, I am glad to be working in downtown SJ, but when I was looking for a home to buy several years ago, I never looked at downtown as a suitable location. Everyday amenities, like Jason points out, are not around and not too convenient.
A coworker of mine from out of town, who is staying at one of the downtown hotel, and did not rent a car, asked me yesterday if there're any electronics stores around his hotel within reasonable walking distance. I can only shake my head...
Also, I think we can have VERY meaningful conversation with both pessimistic/optimistic views. I think in the end, even the pessimistic folks admit that they still love this city, even though it really has a LONG way to go. But you know, it's GOING...it's PROGRESSING..it certainly isn't a dead-end city at all.
And I still stand by my comment that SJ is a very young "big city", it blew up in the 1950's, after past the point where most of the current big American cities have already achieved their "bigness".
SJ has always been to me, before the 1960's, a small city in the south bay, shadowed by the two cities of San Francisco and Oakland to the north. So all the structures in place (SJC) were planned as a small city, with no intention of "growing" San Jose into a big city. And then suddenly BAM! It happened, the growth became explosive, and suddenly we're a big city (population-wise and job-wise) but hampered (if not crippled, in the case with SJC) with small-town planning...
The more I talk about it, San Jose becomes a very funky city, a peculiar one. Sorta like a toddler who suddenly has a growth burst but got hampered in by baby diapers *sorry to all the single people for the parental analogies*
@Jason
DeleteI like Josh's analogy. You flipped us all off. Nice work. Feel better?
@Bob
I called his points "admittedly valid." I even agree there's room for pessimism. I just appreciate civility and think on a friendly blog like this one it can be preserved.
What about Market by Safeway, Walgreen's, Camera 12, Peet Coffee, Rosie Flowers, Bijan Bakery, Lightrail, and all the other amenities downtown. As for architectures: Axis, 360, cityhall and 480 Almaden tower are great designs. Don't sell SJ short! Downtown SJ is better than most downtowns across the country.
DeleteJason, I appreciate your valid points. No doubt SJ has some maturing to do as a city if it wants to attract more residents to the DT. I agree that things are not phenomenal now, but compared to only ten years ago, there has been great progress. All signs are pointing that SJ is on it's way to better things.
ReplyDeleteAmen
DeleteI wouldn't go as far to say downtown residents aren't involved in their community. See http://sjpeople.org/
ReplyDeleteI also have to point out the biggest win of the year for DTSJ, the San Pedro Square Market (even Jason had something nice to say here). Just earlier this year when I predicted that the Market would be a huge success and went so far as to compare it to Santana Row, there were over a dozen negative comments... some saying that it was doomed to failure. If I did the same post today, I have a strong feeling there would be far fewer negative comments despite it still being around only 60% completion. Two weeks ago when I went on a Saturday, there wasn't even standing-room in the courtyard.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's only one project but it's a huge win for Downtown San Jose that validates that restaurant and retail success are possible here. It also inspires some confidence in residents (even the pessimistic ones) that perhaps other projects can succeed as well... additional high-rises, the A's stadium, new retail projects, etc.
Also, I don't think complaining really helps anyone when it comes to Downtown. If you want change to happen, you have to go out and participate. That is why grassroots organizations like IAMSANJOSE have come to light (this group has the ambitious goal of cleaning up St. James park). That's also why I'm going to continue to focus on the wins and the positive things that are happening here... I think those items are what really inspire and attract additional successes and perhaps change perceptions over the long run.
Do you live and/or work downtown? Visiting the Market on the weekend or gong to an event downtown doesn't really lend an accurate view. Talking so positively that you never get to addressing real issues that continuously hold this city back is just sort of, I don't know... not real. Admiring renderings of tall buildings doesn't get the buildings built.
DeleteI'm Downtown between 50-100 days a year and randomly stay at hotels downtown to get a feel for the everyday. I do plan on moving Downtown eventually. I have also been down every single street in the Downtown core, at all times day and night, and I'm 100% sure I've seen many of the negative things that you have seen. However, I choose to focus on the things that are going right because again, in my experience complaining does nothing but temporarily make the complainer feel a little better about themselves (like those 2 seconds of pleasure when you flip off someone that cut you off on the freeway). If you want things to change, you have to propose solutions and help execute them. The problems are obvious, the real challenge is in delivering change.
DeleteI work in downtown as well. In fact, yesterday I dragged a bunch of out-of-towner coworkers to San Pedro Square Market after work (around 7pm) and the place was very lively! In the courtyard were 2 birthday parties going with several tens of people, with at least 50-60 other folks not affiliated with the birthday groups also in the courtyard.
DeleteBlush (the oyster bar) is having some kind of engagement party of sort on their deck. If you have not been to Blush, I highly recommend their deck seatings :P Santana Row ain't got nothing on the deck seating of Blush, that thing just look so right, especially with those huge trees leaning over the deck providing natural shades! It was loud and boisterous!
Inside the buildings, it was standing-room only, as usual :)
*gripe* We got $40 worth of wraps at Robee's Falafel, but seems like the parking validation is only at the Market Bar? $5 parking in the structure is still cheap by my standard...but c'mon...the Market has got to work something out about this funky validation scheme...
Great point, SF has about 100 years of development on SJ and if you look at the other 10 largest cities in the US, they all had developed and dense cores long before SJ.
DeleteAlso regarding the Market, you can get validation at the Market Bar even if you don't buy any drinks. Just eat anywhere and swing by the bar on the way out.
Given that SJC has hampered our core (and central SJ as a whole) in terms of vertical development and noise pollution (787's won't be that much quoted than current fleets), we should focus on incremental milestones in terms of a great city and downtown. 1) current San Pedro Square Market and proposed residential high rises, 2) an A's ballpark; will serve as downtown SJ's greatest catalyst ever, 3) modernized Caltrain, BART and potential high-speed rail and 4) the relocation of SJC to South County near Gilroy (connected to San Jose proper via high-speed rail line). All of this could be accomplished by 2040; if we have leadership at City Hall of course. If San Francisco has a 100-year head start on us, we'll be there in another 30-40 years. As a senior citizen in the 2040's, I hope to be the first one living on the 50th floor downtown ;)
ReplyDeleteMeant quieter, not "quoted."
DeleteAs someone who has lived in downtown SJ for the 5 years but work outside I can say there has been quite a bit of improvement since I first moved. Places like singlebarrel and spsm are clearly great additions. And the general vibe has improved quite a bit - walkability to many things for example - grocery store, cinemas, restaurants, good coffee etc. And I wouldn't trade living here to any other place in the bay area except some neighborhoods in SF.
ReplyDeleteBut Jason is right in pointing out that we should focus on high quality things that are planned with a fairly high probability of them getting done in the near future. For example, talking about the baseball park is all fine and good, but it is far from a done deal. And HSR, if implemented, is targeted at what? 2029? If these 2 highrises are near term deals with a high probability of timely completion lets go right ahead and help get the word out. If we do want to talk about the baseball park lets remember to word things in such a way to not lose sight of reality. Where I dont agree with Jason is his mocking of the 22 stories being towers. It seems that might have been unintended on his part going by his later post.
And I think there is a pretty core group of huge SJ supporters in our town which is why all these positive things are happening. Lets get more such support by getting the right word out.
Cheers!
As a Chicago transplant, I've noticed how SJ is a bit "young" in it's development of the downtown area.
ReplyDeleteA couple things to note; if you work downtown and wish to live downtown and even give up your car, you have to have access to basic retailers, Like a Macy's or Nordstroms.
Also a much larger and comprehensive supermarket...
And a balance between bars to residential buildings - in regards to noise ordinances.
If the airport is quiet at 11:30pm, outdoor bar patios who "blast" their music need to adhere to that too. I live downtown, but drive to a suburban supermarket and retailers, but will eat and frequent a Downtown SJC club,......
.....but when you can't leave your condo windows open because a bar has huge speakers outdoors with the music cranked until 1:30am, you will be less likely to want to live right in the middle of the noise.
Chicago Had to implement balanced residential and outdoor establishments noise ordinances to ensure a peaceful coexistence. Encourage nightlife, but without making all the residents feel like they were living "in" the bar...
Chicago had a noise curfew for many establishments that had outdoor speakers, The bars brought the decibels down by midnight Everynight... Inside the establishments, they still cranked the music,.....
I like to party, but I like to sleep too... We need to balance residential and nightlife as both continue to grow, otherwise SJ San Pedro Square will become a place to party, not live.....
I might be a square, but never got the point of having the music be that loud for the club-gowers themselves. You can't talk to anyone and it makes the sounds quality worse (distortion). At least the newer buildings like Axis and The 88 have very good soundproofing.
DeleteThere's a bar called Myth near San Pedro square that has its outdoor speaker system blaring music very late into the night, but with such great cool evening temperatures, seems counter intuitive to have to shut your windows because bars have outdoor sound systems. I'm not sure if there are any bars near 88 that have their sound systems outside on their patio.
DeleteAgree with everyone here. I never understood having loud speakers outside either, so pointless.
DeleteI remembered at the old Studio 8, I'd go out for a cigarette and talk with a friend and we would roll our eyes as we cannot hear each other at all. And that place doesn't even have outdoor speakers..but it's still so loud..if I remember correctly.
Just heard on the news (740AM) that these towers won't break ground until sometime next year. Lame.
ReplyDeleteI live and work downtown. Unless you do too, it's impossible to comment in a comprehensive, accurate way. I'm an east coast transplant from a major city and San Jose is the strangest place I've ever lived. I mean the in good ways and really bad ways. That's my assessment. Please don't get all bent out of shape about it. Isn't it a good thing to like the good stuff and work ans work on the bad, instead of glossing over big, glaring problems? I don't know, call me realistic.
ReplyDeleteI get that all the time from my East Coast/PacNW transplanted coworkers at my office in downtown SJ as well!
ReplyDeleteThey always comment to the tune of: "Bob, your town San Jose, it's WEIRD. From the freeways, it's spectacularly HUGE, yet in many ways, it feels VERY SMALL..."
I never really understood this need for huge tall buildings to define an amazing downtown. Yes, it would be nice but they don't have to be 50 stories high. I just came back from Barcelona and Madrid, both bustling and vibrant cities. Almost all the buildings there were no taller than 6 stories. People were out until 3-4am. What is needed is quality, not quantity: you can have small buildings and still a very vibrant core. You just need the right balance of things like the people have said above. Oh, and good architecture, which sadly, San Jose is lacking. So I say, keep it small, but with visionary architecture and good restaurants/bars, and DTSJ will succeed.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with the keep it small European style, but I'd still advocate for relocating the airport pre-2050 to address noise blight permanently AND open up 1,000+ acres of San Jose real estate to development. The current Mineta site can have European densities WITH true high-rises +50-stories. Remember, even Paris and London have skyscraper developments outside their traditional cores; San Jose can be the same one day.
DeleteWhy are so many of you obsessed with moving the airport? It will never happen in our lifetime.
ReplyDeleteJon,
DeleteIt's not an obsession: it's a damn good idea! Airport operations around the world (from Hong Kong, Athens, to Denver) have been relocated out of heavily urbanized areas to the countryside in recent years. High-speed rail/transit from city centers out to remote airports makes them just as convenient as if the airport were still in the urban centers (like SJC). Two keys to making this happen in the future: potential high-speed rail from San Jose to Gilroy and the vast, open farmlands southeast of Gilroy. God willing, pending a long, healthy life, I hope to live well into the 2050's. At least in my lifetime, I can definitely see this happen. But it will take strong, visionary leadership at City Hall. Pierluigi Oliverio suggested to me via email this idea is in the realm of possibility within the next 30-years ( when the current airport bonds are paid off). IT CAN HAPPEN!
Strong, visionary leadership at City Hall is sorely needed. We had a chance to move that airport 12-13 years ago when the re-furbishing was being started. I was surprised we didn't make the move then, especially how strong the local economy was at that time.
DeleteMaybe some of the folks can fill me in on why that did not happen back then? I was a wee teen during those times :P
Bob,
DeleteThis is just my opinion, but I'll take a stab at answering your question. All past discussion of relocating airport operations out of the current Mineta site involved opening up Moffett Field to commercial aviation. What's kept Moffett closed to full blown commercial aviation: Sunnyvale and Mt. View. To date both cities have been adamant in their opposition to increased air traffic, be it air cargo or general aviation. I don't exepect either city to change its position on Moffett Field in the future, which is a shame because it's an excellent San Jose airport option.
As far as Gilroy or points south, as it currently stands a remote airport there would be to inconvenient to San Jose/Silicon Valley due to distance. Most folks would simply choose SFO or OAK over driving 25-30 miles to a Gilroy SJC. If in the future we can get a fast rail connection that gets us from downtown San Jose to Gilroy in 15 minutes, then we can start a serious discussion of moving our airport to South County.
Thanks Tony for your summary!
DeleteTruth be told, I don't know if this area can support or even need THREE international airports. At least, a Gilroy move would mean SJC can service the Santa Cruz/Monterey areas as well.
Though...I wonder about moving SJC to the area between Morgan Hill and South San Jose (not Coyota Valley). That's close enough for SJ and southern peninsula, and could also serve the aforementioned Santa Cruz/Monterey folks.
Bob,
DeleteThat's part of my vision for a potential "Gilroy" SJC; to be the airport of San Jose AND Monterey, Salinas, the Central Coast. Add in a potential high-speed rail line and all of a sudden the Central Valley would be part of the catchment area as well. Again, high-speed rail south of San Jose is the key to this idea/vision. Let's see how this plays out in the coming decades.
Haven't you guys been to Dt. Portland or Seattle? They're worst off than Dt. SJ. It really shuts down by 8PM. in both of their downtowns. Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas and others are worst off than San Jose in their quest for downtown vibrancy. San Jose is lucky to have San Pedro Square Market and the area around the Fairmont/Tech Museum.
ReplyDeleteWe just bought a house in downtown San Jose since we both work in the downtown core. No, we are not fans of San Jose (we try - honestly, we do). The area around the University is really trashy and I'm not sure why because SJSU is a pretty place smack dab in the middle of the city. Imagine if all those wonderful old homes around it were fixed up (maybe even have some coffee shops, wine bars, and boutiques in some). And, what if all those "low" rent apt's were forced to clean up and had mandatory green space around them (instead of all that concrete). Another nicety would be to quieten the street noise, for instance, crack down on cars and bikes w/loud mufflers and install some speed bumps to slow them down. And those smaller bar/restaurants that are grimy - make them clean up! They are eyesores. The difference in San Jo and other cities is the lack of ambiance, character, individuality, and sophistication. Why can't the owners of those huge spaces downtown reduce the rent and divide up the space so that smaller businesses can go in as a more aesthetically pleasing environment as well as sustain their business w/less rent?
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree that there is a lot of work to be done in the area right around SJSU. In fact, I agree with all of your comments except for one... speed bumps. I would prefer that they narrow the streets and increase the size of the sidewalks or add bike lanes to slow down traffic instead.
DeleteWhether you believe it or not you actually moved Downtown at a pretty good time and you are going to be seeing many improvements over the coming years, some sooner than others. I would start by checking out Paseo de San Antonio, which should be walking distance from where you live. They just added a new wine bar and bistro there called Vyne, and it's excellent. If you haven't been to La Lune Sucre or Philz next door you are missing out. All three of those have quite a bit of character.
If you haven't been to the San Pedro Square Market over the past couple months, they are making substantial additions. The new B2 Coffee shop is already open and three more eateries should be open soon. This is my favorite hangout spot at the moment.
Along First St, you have a new Greek restaurant called Namea that looks very promising, a family run Korean restaurant, Blackbird Taven which will open soon, and a huge Muji retail store. Over in SoFA, Stritch just opened and is oozing character and has a great vibe.
Have a little patience and keep trying, you'll be fans sooner or later =)