New renders for affordable housing in Alviso/North San Jose

Next to the Topgolf towards the very north of San Jose are plans for multiple projects. One of the more significant ones involves 780 apartments sitting on top of 16,200 SQFT of retail. The apartments would be split into eight buildings up to seven-stories tall.

The design isn't glamourous, but if it helps keep the prices reasonable I'm all for it. We definitely need more housing in this area which is near the bulk of Silicon Valley tech jobs.  

Source: SF YIMBY

Updated photos of the tallest buildings in Santa Clara

Santa Clara is growing up. The Tasman East area at the border with North San Jose and Alviso is going to have several new mixed-use residential towers go live well before Super Bowl 60. Gillynova from Skyscraper City has a ton of new photos of the development in the area.

These are the first residential high-rises in Santa Clara (besides a SCU dorm) and feature surprising amenities like rooftop pools. The towers are 238 and 219 feet tall. There is also a new midrise housing building which you can see below.

There are plans for even more towers in the future courtesy of Related Co, who also wants to build hotels, offices, and an entertainment complex right in front of Levi's Stadium.

Source: gillynova from Skyscraper City

804 new home proposed in Alviso next to San Jose's Topgolf

There are several large parcels in Alviso earmarked for major development, the first of which became Silicon Valley's first Topgolf. Another that was supposed to be an entertainment and retail center has transitioned to become a future data center. Now a parcel that was originally going to be a hotel is pivoting to homes, and quite a large number of them.

Genesis Commercial Capital wants to build 804 new homes on a 3.2 acre site on North First Street right next to the Topgolf--see map below. They are utilizing the state's builder's remedy to expedite and streamline the approval process (the same builder's remedy that is also sometimes weaponized to downsize previously approved projects).

At least 20% of the homes will have to be earmarked as affordable housing. Currently there is no target ETA, but given how badly San Jose needs housing I think it will be a quick approval and more in the hands of the developer on how soon they want to move dirt and get the project up and running.

Source: SVBJ

Alviso/North San Jose entertainment district is now a data center

Next to the Topgolf in Alviso was a grand plan for an entertainment district containing shops, restaurants, and two hotels. Five years later, the area around Topgolf is still barren (although Topgolf is doing very well on its own). 

Now, the owners of the land are coming back to the city with a very different proposal that is likely to be a lot less exciting for North San Jose residents... a giant data center. I'm digging the exterior design with a living wall for the 172,500 SQFT two-story building and it's neighboring 174,400 SQFT three-story power center--but it's still a server farm. 

There is still hope for a 15,000 SQFT retail space, which could house a few restaurants. However, that is nothing compared the the multi-million SQFT projects Santa Clara is planning down the street. In a few years there will be tons of new apartments, office buildings, restaurants, shopping, and at least one new hotel across from Levi's stadium. Not to mention all of Great America will likely be turned into some mixed used mega-property like Santana Row over the next 10-15 years. 

Something is better than nothing from a city tax dollar perspective, but we should question whether this is the best use for this land. Once it's a data center, I don't think it will be convertible to anything else.

Source: The Merc

Topgolf opens first Silicon Valley location in San Jose

North San Jose and Alviso are quiet parts of San Jose. There is honestly not much to do in terms of entertainment. Fortunately a new major amenity arrived a few months ago, Topgolf. It's part driving range, part Dave & Busters, and part gastropub.

The San Jose location is the first in the Bay Area as well as only the second location in all of Northern California. It is also one of only 4 flagship venues. To give you an idea of how popular these are, the Topgolf in Austin sells more alcohol than any other venue in Austin. The San Jose location is three stories with large bars and restaurants on each one.

The driving range aspect is more of a video game than anything else. Each golf ball has a microchip that lets it be tracked and the computer scores you based on your level of accuracy. There are also tons of games with different rules that you can play with your companions.

The food was surprisingly solid for a big chain. The burgers and fried mac & cheese were delicious. Service was a bit slow, but they were completely slammed when I went (on a Monday).

If you want to play, I would recommend getting a reservation since standby times can stretch to 4 hours or beyond. Parking is free, convenient, and they have a large number of free EV chargers as a bonus. It's also a great location for corporate events and parties. I experienced one firsthand and it was a blast.

For more info and to make reservations, head over here.

Bill.com is moving from Palo Alto to San Jose

Bill.com was the 2nd largest Bay Area tech IPO last year and they have decided to make San Jose their new home. They are moving from Palo Alto to 132,000 SQFT at 6220 America Center Drive. This is an office complex in Alviso that also features three Marriott Hotels (including an Aloft) and HP Enterprise's Headquarters.

They are nearly tripling their space from only 48,200 SQFT at 1810 Embarcadero. That means more jobs for San Jose at a fast-growing tech company whose shares are now public. Bill.com is currently worth just shy of $3 billion and employs over 500 people.

Source: SVBJ

Two new waterfront San Jose hotels are now open

Marriott has just opened a brand new Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites in San Jose's northernmost district, Alviso. This will add 261 much-needed rooms to Silicon Valley's pool of hotel facilities. The hotel is within a few miles of most tech companies in the Golden Triangle, as well as Levi's Stadium.

The location is a bit interesting since it is tucked deep into the America Center (Great America Parkway north of Highway 237). A major benefit is it's quiet and you actually get a bay-front view. Not many San Jose hotels can say that.

Residence Inn features all-suite rooms with kitchens, making them ideal for longer trips. Meanwhile the Fairfield Inn & Suites portion of the project is a more traditional hotel with king and double queen rooms.

Amenities include a putting green, basketball court, pickleball, a saltwater pool, fitness center, and a BBQ pit. When driving by I was happy to notice an abundance of EV chargers at the new hotel as well. There also appears to be direct trail access to really take advantage of that bay-front location.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

Google buys a North San Jose office building for $155M

Google's first campus in San Jose may not be what you expect. Yes, they have been working for ages on a transit-oriented urban campus centered around Diridon Station in Downtown San Jose. That campus will eventually house tens of thousands of employees across a staggering 8 million SQFT of office space. However, one of their first forays into San Jose is going to be a bit more modest than that.

Google has just acquired two office buildings in North San Jose at 4300 and 4400 North First Street. The buildings are just north of Highway 237, which I would consider to be Alviso.

The buildings are partially occupied by Harmonic and Compstak and have recently been renovated. The leases expire in 2020, which is only a little over a year away. Their intentions for the buildings are not yet clear, but this seems like an obvious extension of their Mountain View campus, which is only 8 miles away by car or a 45 minute bike ride away.

Source: SVBJ

Topgolf breaking ground in Alviso

Later this year, Topgolf will begin construction on their first Bay Area location. Topgolf is the Dave&Busters of driving ranges and has 41 locations nationwide (only one in California). The San Jose venue will have a three-story driving range with 120 hitting bays, each of which can accommodate six people. Each golf ball has a microchip that can score each golfer--turning it into more of a video game than a traditional range. 

Most Topgolfs are open until midnight during the week and 2am on the weekend. This would provide another much-needed late-night entertainment option for North San Jose and Aliviso. Of course there will be a high-end lounge, one or more restaurants, and several bars onsite. To put the size of the project in perspective, it will employ about 500 people and entertain 450,000+ guests each year.

In addition to the Topgolf, the overall development site will also have a 200-room hotel and 119,000 SQFT of retail. The project is being proposed without subsidies and would bring even more tax dollars to San Jose coffers. It's not clear how long it will take to build, but an opening by the end of 2020 would be a safe bet if there are no roadblocks.

Source: SVBJ

New Topgolf Shopping Center Renderings

A handful of new renders for the proposed Topgolf in Alviso have been released. Topgolf is the Dave & Busters of driving ranges. They are popular entertainment destinations with 20 locations across the US (the only other Topgolf location in California is near Sacramento). The San Jose Topgolf would be part of a 100,000 SQFT retail project that includes a new 200-room hotel. The center would be very close to @First and Levi's Stadium and might even encourage a few residents a visitors to explore Alviso, a mostly forgotten yet very interesting and unique part of San Jose.

Source: gillynova from the San Jose Development Forum

 

Another office campus planned for North San Jose

I have already lost track of how many office projects are proposed in North San Jose, they just keep on coming in. Lincoln Property Co. is teaming up with Gemdale Corp. to make one of those projects a reality. Midpoint@237 consists of four new office buildings off of North First Street just past 237 (going towards Alviso). The buildings would total up to 415,000 SQFT and be between two to three stories with 40,000 SQFT floor plates.

While they are not as tall or dense as I would hope for a 2016 project in San Jose, it will bring more tax dollars and jobs into the area. Next door there are also plans for up to 564,000 SQFT of advanced manufacturing space--perfect for a company like oh, let's say Apple or Tesla.

Construction is expected to begin next quarter with completion expected in the third quarter of 2017.

Source: SVBJ

Topgolf Considering San Jose for first Bay Area Location

Topgolf is like a collision between a driving range and a Dave & Busters. They have 20 locations across the US, which are huge regional entertainment draws and can command multi-hour wait times to get in. Each location typically has a high-tech three story driving range, multiple restaurants and bars, and business centers for corporate events. The balls have embedded micro-chips that let you know how close you came to hitting various targets on the field. Players are scored based on accuracy and distance. The experience is closer to a trendy bowling alley than a traditional driving range.

The location that Topgolf is eyeing is Pin High Golf Center in Alviso. The project could be part of a new retail center that would include up to 100,000 SQFT of retail and a 200-room hotel. This area is just down the street from the @First Shopping Center and around a mile away from Levi's Stadium and Santa Clara's planned shopping and entertainment center. Not only would it help capitalize on events happening in Santa Clara, but it would help service North San Jose where retail is still scarce.

The only other planned California Topgolf location so far is in Sacramento, and that will open in November 2016.

Source: SVBJ

New Manufacturing and Office Project Coming to Alviso

A large 34-acre project including 565,000 SQFT of manufacturing space and 450,000 SQFT of office was approved in San Jose's Alviso District (northwest corner of Nortech Parkway and Disk Drive, land formerly owned by Cisco). The project will likely result in 1,200 jobs or more.

Construction should begin by the end of the year and phase 1 will be two manufacturing buildings totaling 330,00 SQFT and two R&D/office buildings totaling 170,000. This is a speculative project, meaning there is no tenant in mind at this point.

Source: SVBJ

The Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC*SJ) Free Movie Night

The PAC*SJ is hosting a great event for anyone that is interested in San Jose's history. They will be screening several films showcasing San Jose in the 50's, along with an era-appropriate pot luck (think Vahl's Restaurant in Alviso) and costume contest. All of the details are below:

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The Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC*SJ) will be hosting their traditional Movie Night on November 14, 2013 to celebrate San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley.

The event will be held at:

San Jose Woman’s Club
75 South 11th Street, San Jose

The doors will open at 6:15. This event begins with a potluck of 1950’s dishes contributed by the guests, who are encouraged to wear vintage outfits from the 1930’s - 1950's.

The movies will include promotional films about Dole canning and downtown San Jose in the 1950’s, old commercials, views of the spring blossoms and Moffett Field, and very early movies from the Edison Studio of the Hotel Vendome and Lick Observatory.

In addition to the great food and entertainment, there will be a silent auction and a Holiday Boutique table with period items.

There will be prizes for the best recipes and costumes.

The event is free to the public. Many streets in the area offer free parking after 6:00, but guests may choose to park in the SJSU parking garage on 10th Street for $5.00.

Trammell Crow Bringing 575,000 SQFT of Manufacturing Space to Alviso Area

There has been a lot of news on new residential or commercial development in San Jose, but it has been quiet on the industrial front for quite some time. In fact, there hasn't been an industrial building built in San Jose for 15 years. However, manufacturing is slowly coming back to the US. With more advanced robots and 3D printing technologies in the pipeline, the trend will likely continue if not accelerate in the future.

Trammell Crow has decided to take a leap of faith and speculatively build a massive amount of manufacturing space on the edge of Alviso on 57 acres of empty land formerly owned by Cisco. The first phase will be a single 250,000 SQFT building for high-tech manufacturing. After that, an even larger 325,000 SQFT building will be constructed. Finally Trammel Crow plans to top off the project with 400,000 SQFT of office space between two and three story buildings on North First.

While there is quite a bit of manufacturing space in the North First area, most of the facilities are outdated and are much smaller in sized than what is being planned by Trammel Crow. This could really attract an interesting tenant or two to the Alviso area.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: San Jose Marina

Few people know that San Jose actually has direct access to the bay though Alviso. In 2010, we received some water access for small boats and kayaks, but in theory the area could support a full blown marina or port. Imagine one day taking a ferry ride from San Jose to other parts of the bay!

How to Take a Boat from San Jose to the SF Bay (?)

As surprising as this may come to a lot of people, San Jose actually hits water. At one point Alviso in Northern San Jose was a bustling seaport, and over time the area became completely unusable for any type of recreational boating. After many years of hard work, the Alviso Slough is dredged to the point where you can actually take a kayak or small boat (as large as 30ft in high tide), launch it from Alviso's "marina," and take it all the way into the SF Bay. Hopefully, this will open up the doors to all sorts of potential improvements to the Alviso area and provide San Joseans some recreational boating options once more. For more info on the grand opening of the Alviso boat ramp, just take a look at this Merc article.