October 2015 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• San Jose is rebranding its parking facilities as PARK SJ to clearly differentiate city-owned lots (Market and San Pedro Square Garage, Second and San Carlos Street Garage, Third Street Garage, Fourth Street Garage) from private garages. These four garages have over 3,400 spaces and the Downtown validation program will not be changed.
• A huge urban tech campus has been proposed near Diridon Station. This would include 800,000 SQFT of modern offices, 325 residential units, plenty of retail, and 2,400 parking spaces (a net increase of 1,600 spaces). The first phase could be completed by 2017.
• San Jose will be included in several Super Bowl 50 events:
• Super Bowl Opening Night will take place Feb. 1 at the SAP Center
• The NFC Champion will stay at the Marriott Hotel Downtown and practice at SJSU
• Downtown Ice will be extended to February 7th to celebrate the Super Bowl
• There will be an expanded South First Fridays and Winter Market on February 5th
• A Super Guadalupe River Run (5K and 10K) will take place on the morning of February 7th
• VivaCalleSJ is going to transform the streets of San Jose on October 11th. Six whole miles of streets from East San Jose to Downtown will be closed down to automotive traffic from 10am to 3pm, letting residents freely walk, run, or bike throughout the streets. There will be several gathering hubs with vendors, activities, and entertainment. The 8 Super Bowl Vince Lombardi Trophies won by the 49ers and Raiders will be displayed at St. James Park.
• The 27,000 SQFT, five-story building at 100 E. Santa Clara is being converted into the upscale 44-room Hotel Clariana. It will also have a lobby bar, lounge, gift shop, and should be open in time for the Super Bowl.
• The interactive light sculpture called "Show Your Stripes" at The 88 now offers 318 different lighting schemes (up from 129). Anyone can change the lighting scheme by dialing (408) 287-0128 and typing three digits followed by a # sign. Some of the new patterns includes 192 for wonderful avocados, 378 for sun smooch, 358 for sizzling chaos, 215 for flying hearts, 249 for wold view, and 444 for deep blue black hole. The names and numbers can be downloaded from sanjoseca.gov/showyourstripes.
• The Hotel De Anza is wrapping up a $5.7 million renovation, modernizing its public spaces, meeting rooms, and 100 guestrooms.
• Aura Kitchen + Bar replaces Motif at 389 S. First St.
• A new La Vic's is now open at 291 N. Fourth Street.
• HoM Korean Kitchen is now open at 76 E. Santa Clara Street, offering Korean favorites made from scratch.
• The US Patent Office will officially open at San Jose City Hall on October 15th!

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