Japantown mixed-use development proposal

Downtown San Jose receives most of the attention when it comes to dense high-rise development these days, but there are some interesting proposals outside of the area. For example, there is a new project on the table in Japantown that would include multiple towers on the area bound by Taylor Street, Miller Street, George Street, and North First Street. It would include a 210 foot tall tower with 244 apartments, 61,000 SQFT of office space, 5,560 SQFT of retail, and 731 parking spaces.

The project would also be right in the middle of the North 1st Street Local Transit Village Plan, which will hopefully accommodate thousands of new homes and jobs in the future. Currently the area houses a surface parking lot and a one-story office building. This would be a major upgrade for the area.

If all goes well this could be approved by the City Council later this year or in Q1 of 2021. It would then take at least a couple more years to build.

Source: SVBJ

New arts center coming to Japantown

An empty lot in Japantown at 7th Street and E. Taylor Street is now destined to become a 55,000 SQFT arts center. It will become the new home base for several nonprofits including Silicon Valley Creates, for San Jose Taiko, the New Ballet School, and CreaTV. If it looks anything like the render below, it should also be quite stunning.

The goal is to kick off construction by June of 2019 (this is highly dependent on funding), and it won't be the only project in the area. Eventually the arts center is expected to be surrounded by new housing midrises and a park.

Source: The Merc  Hat tip to Vianka Villanueva for sending this in!

Save Empire Seven Studios

The Empire Seven gallery in Japantown has hosted hundreds of art shows over its 10 year run. Unfortunately, the building will soon be torn down to make room for luxury apartments. Officially, they will be kicked out on January 1st, 2017.

Empire Seven's proprietors are now looking to build a new gallery in the heart of Japantown. The project would create a new four-story building with the gallery on the main floor, a recording studio in the basement, and artist residences on the upper floors. The residences would help keep local artists in San Jose.

They are asking for donations through a GoFundMe campaign over here. Every little bit helps, including getting the word out to as many people as possible. Check out their 8-minute video below and learn more about the project here.

Japantown Project Moving Forward

Hanover Co., is in contract to purchase Cannery Park Village at 357 E. Taylor St., which is the location of a now defunct corporation yard (maintenance and repair facility for vehicles/equipment and material storage). They are planning to build a four-story building on the 8-acre lot with 403 apartments. The project will also include nearly 600 parking spaces which will be mostly in a garage, 5,000 SQFT of retail on East Taylor Street, and a small 0.7-acre park.

If all goes well, approvals will come by the end of the year and construction could begin in 2016.

Source: SVBJ

Three New Apartment Buildings Coming to Japantown

8 acres of land in Japantown at 357 E. Taylor St. is expected to go into contract with a major apartment builder soon. There were big plans for this site five years ago, but the economy killed any potential for development back then. Now, it looks like things are moving forward and the land is already entitled for around 400 residential units.

The project should include three new five-story buildings with a chance for even greater density. The old Continental Can Co. brick warehouse at the site will be preserved and even perhaps integrated into the project. A 1-acre park would be in the mix here as well.

Source: SVBJ

New Japantown Project Moves Forward!

There appears to be no shortage of San Jose projects getting off the ground lately. The former La-Z-Boy warehouse is going to transformed into 166 units of luxury apartment living at 825 N. 10th Street. The development will feature studios, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom apartments ranging from $1,600 to $2,800 per month. As for amenities, they are shooting for "boutique-hotel living." There will be a nice pool (pictured below), a yoga studio, workout area, and I'm sure much more.

Contractors are going to start work immediately on the industrial conversion. Construction should take 17 months with leasing starting in late 2014 or early 2015.

There is also work on an 80 unit for-sale project across the street and a major mixed-use project on the city corporation yard with 600 units. I have a feeling we're going to need more than one Bikeshare station in Japantown!

Source: SVBJ

Japantown "Corp Yard" Project Moves Forward!

An epic $180 million project is moving forward in Japantown. The quick details: 600 residential apartments in six-story buildings with underground parking, ground floor retail and live/work units, a park with cherry orchards, a public stage/pavilion, and a creative center for the arts. You can check out the design for the creative center in the very last image... I hope that becomes the final design because it looks incredible! That building will house San Jose Taiko, CreaTV, Arts Council of Silicon Valley, and other San Jose nonprofits. I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask for in a Japantown project.

You have to click the images below to really see the detail from the scans. The architecture is "modern Japan" with elegant simplicity, wood elements, shifted forms, and framed views. Needless to say, this will be one of the most unique and visually striking developments in the Bay Area. I really hope this comes to fruition and encourages even more projects of this caliber in San Jose.

Sources: Jonathan Bush (thanks for the scans!), SVBJ

New Luxury Apartments in Japantown

A former La-Z-Boy furniture distribution warehouse on North 10th Street is going to be redeveloped into 166 luxury apartments by The Core Companies and Republic Urban Properties. They are going for the aesthetic of an urban boutique-hotel and plan amenities such as a pool with cabanas, game areas, a yoga room, conference rooms, and a community room. Construction could start next year and build-out would take between 14 and 16 months.

If that was not enough, the developer ROEM Corp is planning to start on a 106 apartment project in mid 2013 just a few blocks away. The increased population density will definitely help the Japantown community continue to thrive and expand.

Source: SJBJ

Earthquakes D-day Video

One step closer to getting the Earthquakes stadium built...

$28m Residential Project in Japantown!

In Last week's San Jose / Silicon Valley Business Journal, there is a great article about a new Japantown residential project called Cornerstone.  Here is the brief summary:

• 53-unit affordable housing project, 3-stories, no retail
• Corner of N 10th and Hedding
• Made possible due to a $2m federal grant
• Being designed by LPMD Architects, based in Sunnyvale
• Residents should be able to move in summer 2011

Click here to read the full article (warning, you may need to be a subscriber to read this one).

Photo: Courtesy Illustration