The market for office space is really heating up in Silicon Valley, and Federal Realty (owners of Santana Row) are about to make a substantial speculative investment involving three new office buildings. The first was already announced--a 220,000 sqft six-story building that would face the Winchester Mystery House. The second would be a 250,000 sqft building sitting on top of new retail that would cap the very end of Santana Row and also feature a "town square" area. The last would be a 220,000 sqft building on a brand new site that they are trying to acquire fronting Tisch Way and Dudley Avenue.
The entire project makes perfect sense. Modern companies want to be located near amenities like quality restaurants and housing. Add in retail, a hotel, movie theater, luxury gym, and various parks... well you have the ultimate destination for a corporate headquarters. The only thing missing is mass transit, and that should come very soon when a bus rapid transit (BRT) line is built from Downtown San Jose to Stevens Creek.
To add the the good news, the ginormous parking lot around Century Theaters across the street may one day be developed into a project at the same level of density as Santana Row.
Source:
The Registry
Santana Row. Meh.
ReplyDeleteI'd love it to be downtown!
ReplyDeleteAnywhere in SJ is fine with me. I'm tired of seeing new buildings go up in Sumnyvale, Mountain View, etc. Last week it was the new Nvidia campus in Santa Clara. We need to get in on the action.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. It kind of seems like san jose gets the shit end of the stick sometimes, especially in terms of new retail developments and business expansion. Fortunately, it does seem like there are a few big projects coming down the pipe for san jose, especially along san carlos st (which makes the planned BRT service all the more crucial).
DeleteSamsung's planned HQ in SJ looks much more impressive than the NVidia's.
DeleteYeah, Samsung is my second favorite new HQ next to Apple. I would also rank the Facebook expansion above Nvidia's campus at least in terms of the renderings. However, these may look quite a bit different in person.
DeleteNo argument there...I hope the city are true to their word and the Samsung project gets moved through the approvals process quickly.
DeleteWhat about N1? No news on that one for a while.
No news on N1 yet
DeleteThe traffic there alone is a serious problem for this type of office space. No one will be able to get in or out during normal hours.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the BRT line and the 280/880 interchange improvements will help here. Also, keep in mind that the offices will add no traffic on weekends when Santana Row is most busy.
Delete"To add the the good news" isn't exactly good news. As the previous poster noted, Stevens Creek is already congested, as are the 880/17 offramps to Stevens Creek. This will make a bad situation worse. And why are the Century Theatre's parking lots a bad thing? Do we need skyscrapers on every block?
ReplyDelete"Do we need skyscrapers on every block?"
DeleteYes. As many as possible. Ever left San Jose? It's pretty remarkable what they've done with cities since the 1900s.
Skyscrapers? Haha. The south bay has some mid-rises at best. Can we finally agree we're no longer a valley of tract homes, paved over orchards, and strip malls? It's time we add some density...we don't need Chicago, but DC would be nice.
DeleteI'll take Chicago or DC, either levels of density would make me happy.
DeleteWe can have "DC" downtown and "Chicago" at N1 ;)
DeleteWe could also have DC density at midtown and five wounds. I don't really see n1 having any skyscrapers because it still hangs on to the campus style design to suggest that intense a development. On another note does anyone remember the study that was supposed to be conducted about raising the height restrictions downtown and know whatever happened with it?
DeleteI remembered that. Study was supposedly completed end of last year I think. In the video, Liccardo said it might be a few years out before a decision is made...so that's that.
DeleteHere's a link to the same thing, but it has the reverse effect of LOWERING the heigh limit, EEK
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/02/06/faa-study-of-new-maximum-height-limits.html?page=all
Actually anon, N1 is poised to see a massive facelift over the course of the next 20+ years: from the current campus style wasteland to a high-density, traffic oriented district. Building heights currently proposed for N1 are up to 120 ft in height, but this should be revisited/changed in the future. As I've mentioned in previous posts and other forums, N1 from Brokaw to Montegue should be able to accommodate towers in the 500-600 ft range, perhaps even up to 700 ft. I think what's really needed is a change of thinking at SJ City Hall: not all high-rise development needs to be in the downtown core. We still have time to influence city hall and maximize N1's development potential.
DeleteMeant transit-oriented, not "traffic."
DeleteThe BRT? Really? Riding a bus to Santana Row? Nah.
ReplyDeleteI have never been on a BRT system before, but I hear it is closer to lightrail than your standard bus. I would definitely try it. Also, San Jose is less pretentious with wealth than other places. I know several people that take a bus or bike to work, but have more money then they know how to spend.
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