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!
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| From Lastlightbender's Instagram Page |
2015! It sure doesn't look like Back to the Future 2 or The Jetsons at all!!!!!!! San Jose will finally have a vibrant downtown with critical mass. Yeah, all those cool buildings and some interesting gadgets are here today in San Jose. LA had them in 1976. There were lots of cool areas and cool architectures in LA back in the 70's. Really, overall appearance of the current time is more like 1980, not the futuristic 2000 post period depicted by Hollywood and future predictors.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Parkview and Post towers are happening any time soon :(
ReplyDeleteThank God, the Silvery will break ground in March/April. At least, this project is money in the bank(definitely going to happen)
ReplyDeleteI am rooting for San Jose, and especially downtown SJ, to succeed... but I think the above post is overly optimistic. Several of the developments in the bullet point about cranes are NOT likely to begin construction in 2015. And until a substantial number of additional residential units open downtown (or we miraculously fill a lot more office space), retail and restaurants are still going to be hit or miss. Yes, we've added some nice new restaurants downtown recently, but a number have closed as well. Retail is still a tough row to hoe, also... it's great that the new developments are including ground-floor retail (I think ALL new developments downtown and in the urban villages around San Jose should be required to provide retail space, or at least tall first-floor ceiling heights to allow retail), but filling up that retail is going to be a challenge in the near-term.
ReplyDeleteBottom line - I think SJ is on the right trajectory and there's a lot to look forward to, but keep things in perspective and also keep pushing for good development and more activity, especially in downtown.
It's just all because Valley Fair/Santana Row are too close to downtown for downtown having a successful retail/dining destination but is an exciting urban district in its own way.
DeleteWe need denser buildings people. Remember we have rules on downtown high rises. We need to aim for denser housing. Its a must.
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