April 2014 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• SPUR has generated six big ideas to help steer Downtown San Jose towards becoming a more vital and dynamic urban place:
• Welcome all kinds of uses Downtown, but hold out for jobs near regional transit (includes establishing minimum densities within a half mile of BART stations and eliminating minimum parking requirements for new developments).
• Make sure what gets built adheres to key urban design principals
• Promote a larger "Central San Jose" area with Downtown as its core
• Make it easier to get to and through Downtown without a car
• Retrofit Downtown to be more pedestrian-oriented
• Build on Downtown's strengths as the cultural and creative center of the South Bay
• KT Properties hopes to break ground this year for the largest residential high-rise project Downtown--Silvery Towers--involving two high-rises across from San Pedro Square Market and featuring 643 units.
• TONS of new Restaurants:
• Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse is now open at 167 W. San Fernando.
• First to Market is open at 399 S. First.
• Seven Seas Sushi Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar is open at 130 E. Santa Clara St. (formerly Ninja Star).
• Da Kine Island Grill is now open at 23 N. Market St. (Hula dancing and reggae bands on Saturday, old-fashioned luaus on Sundays).
• Nick the Greek is open at 143 W. Santa Clara St.
• Cafe Eden is serving Mediterranean food at 2 N. First St.
• La Victoria is opening their 5th location this summer at the former Tico's Tacos site at 291 N. Fourth and Julian. This will be their 3rd Downtown location.
• ISO: Beers is now offering a huge selection of craft beers at 75 E. Santa Clara.
• Paper Plane at 72 S. First St. offers a craft cocktail bare experience and shareable food (same owners as Original Gravity)
• Fireworks are Back this Fourth of July!!! The rotary club is is celebrating its 100th anniversary and has agreed to donate $20,000 to bringing back the fireworks show. The last fireworks show we had Downtown was in 2009 (and these would attract as many as 100,000 people).
• Light Rail is now 25 years old.
• SoFA projects are well underway which will include:
• Illuminating SoFA way-finders to connect the district with the Convention Center
• Construction of a permanent shade structure for the new plaza at Gore Park
• A series of "pop-up tiendas" to support creative artists selling their work during events in SoFA.

To read the full newsletter, click here!