524 new apartments proposed near Santana Row

A site previously entitled for a 882,000 SQFT office and retail project has pivoted to housing. This proposal by Holland Partner Group is at the intersection of Stevens Creek and Saratoga Ave., just a few minutes drive away from Santana Row and Valley Fair.

The project would have two eight-story residential buildings, both of which would wrap around a central courtyard. Of the 524 proposed units, 5% would be designated as affordable to very-low-income households.

The ground floor would be able to accommodate two fitness centers and plans also include a co-working space. One of the goals would be to enhance the pedestrian experience for the areas fronting Stevens Creek and Saratoga Ave., and part of that would be creating brand new public gathering spaces.

While it may not be as lucrative as an office building long-term, this proposal would be a major improvement for the corner at 3896 Stevens Creek Boulevard.

Source: The Mercury News

Eye-catching residential towers could rise near Valley Fair and Santana Row

If there ever was an area ripe for high-rise development outside of Downtown it would be right around our shopping mecca of Valley Fair and Santana Row. While it has limited transit, the area is flush with shopping, dining, and jobs.

A two-tower project has been proposed to replace a dilapidated building at 826 North Winchester Blvd. The project would consist of 135 residential units (70 one-bedroom and 65 two-bedroom units), 20 of which would be affordable. There would also be 13,000 SQFT of open space, 6,000 SQFT of terrace space, and 7,500 SQFT of amenity space.

The top floors would have amazing views in all directions, including views of neighboring Downtown San Jose. Another impressive feature is a sky bridge connecting the two towers and likely featuring outdoor and amenity space with views.

If this comes to fruition, it'll be the new standard for development going forward in "uptown" San Jose.

Source: The Mercury News

San Jose housing project upsized in "Uptown"

The site of the former Century 24 domed movie theater at 741 South Winchester Blvd. is destined to become an affordable housing project. The developers SyRes Properties LLC is increasing the number of units to 264 in a seven-story residential building.

The project would have 35 studios, 113 one-bedroom apartments, and 116 two-bedroom apartments. 20% of the units units would be considered affordable, which allow the complex to qualify as a housing development for very low, low, or moderate-income households. This designation allows the developer to apply for a "builder's remedy" which not only accelerates the project through city planning but enables to builder to add more units to the project.

The project would also include a community room, a 3rd floor outdoor space, a gym, and co-working spaces for residents. However, the biggest draw might be that is is just blocks away from Santana Row and other development projects around the Winchester Mystery House.

Source: The Merc

Santana West breaks ground on 350,000 SQFT office building

Now that Santana Row is wrapping up its final building, Federal Realty is setting their sights across the street with a new project called Santana West. The first phase officially broke ground last week and consists of an eight-story, 360,000 SQFT office building and a 1,750 space parking structure. Also, by breaking ground I mean there is already active construction on the site--it was not just a formality.

Federal Realty is trying to lease the whole building to a single tenant but is building Santana West speculatively without a tenant in tow. If all goes well, there are two additional phases that will bring the project to one million SQFT.

Unlike Santana Row, this is not a mixed-use development. In fact, there is no retail component at all--not even a coffee shop. The only likely public amenity in the project is the re-purposing of the Century 21 dome. This might seem like a missed opportunity, but two of the most successful retail projects in the United States are just across the street.

If everything goes according to plan, the building will be ready for occupancy in Q1 2021, less than two years from today.

Quick look inside the Valley Fair expansion

The Silicon Valley Business Journal has given us a sneak peak into Valley Fair's $1.1 billion remodel and expansion. The mall is growing from 1.5 million SQFT to 2.2 million, making it by far the largest mall in Northern  California and the 15th largest in the US (If you were to count stores at Santana Row it would be the largest).

The expansion will bring flagship stores for Apple and Bloomindale's as well as other premium brands such as Jimmmy Choo, John Varvatos, UNTUCKit, and Gorjana. Double Eagle Steakhouse, Shake Shack, Salt & Straw, and SomiSomi are some of the new eateries. 80% of the expansion is already pre-leased. If you are concerned about parking, they just added another 1,200 space garage and optimized the new front entrance for car sharing/pooling, bikes, and pedestrians in mind (finally).

By pushing the mall outwards towards Stevens Creek and adding an outdoor paseo, they are doing their best to better connect to Santana Row. Inside the more traditional mall area, they are using a lot of high-end materials and leveraging natural light thanks to massive skylights.

The expansion will have its grand opening early next year, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 100 new stores did a soft opening before Christmas.

Source: SVBJ

Federal Realty moves forward on 1 million SQFT "Santana West" office project

Now that the legal battles between San Jose and Santa Clara around development are over, Federal Realty--the developer behind Santana Row--is resuming work on their next major project. The Silicon Valley Business Journal go their hands on some impressive renderings of the 13 acre project.

It looks like it will be one massive building covered entirely with outdoor green space. The Century 21 building would somehow be incorporated into the project, but how is not yet clear. "Santana West" is build-to-suit, meaning they are not planning to move forward without a committed tenant.

If all goes well, we will have another flagship office building in 2019 or 2020.

Source: SVBJ

Urban Villages are on the way!

On Wednesday, May 10^th, the City’s Planning Commission recommended that City Council approve two Urban Village Plans: the Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village and the Winchester Boulevard Urban Village. These Urban Villages are located on the west side of San José and include developments such as the Westfield Valley Fair mall, Santana Row, and properties along Winchester Boulevard.

The purpose of Urban Village Plans is to guide new job and housing growth within Urban Village areas and to guide the preservation of existing neighborhoods. San José is projected to grow by over 400,000 people by the year 2040; in order to accommodate for this massive growth in population, the City created the Urban Village concept as part of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan update in 2011. In addition to facilitating this growth, Urban Village Plans will guide the characteristics of future development including buildings, parks, plazas, public art, streetscape and circulation. The Winchester Urban Village Plan sets a capacity for 2,000 jobs and 2,200 housing units, and the Santana Row/Valley Fair Urban Village Plan sets a capacity for 8,500 jobs and 2,635 housing units to the year 2040.

These Urban Village Plans are the fruition of over two years of community engagement, of which included online surveys, community workshops, and discussions between City staff, developers and community stakeholders.

City Council will vote on June 27^th to approve or deny these Urban Village Plans. If adopted, residential, commercial, office, and mixed-use development will be able to move forward within the boundaries of the Urban Villages. This area of the city is VERY HOT right now for both office and residential development, so we can expect many development proposals within these areas if the Plans are approved.

Other Urban Village Plans currently under development by the City include the West San Carlos Street Urban Village, the Stevens Creek Boulevard Urban Village, the East Santa Clara Street Urban Village, and the South Bascom Urban Village.

To learn more about Urban Villages, please check out the City’s Urban Village webpage.

Winchester Boulevard Urban Village Land Use Map

Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village Land Use Map

New 11-story hotel planned for "Uptown" San Jose

San Jose desperately needs more hotels, which increase our ability to host major events and bring more visitors into the area. Fortunately, a new hotel project has just been announced two blocks away from Santana Row and across the street from Valley Fair. The proposal is for 173 guest rooms in one 11-story building. The first floor would be the lobby and likely some retail or restaurant space, floors two through five would be parking, and floors 6 through 11 would have the rooms. One cool amenity is that there would be a restaurant and balcony on the 11th floor that overlooks the area.

While it would be nice if the building was taller and the parking was underground, you have to remember that this site currently has a gas station and we are well outside of Downtown. It sounds like a nice project for the area, especially since two possible brands are Hilton's Canopy and Choice Hotels' Cambria. Both are very contemporary high-end brands that feature nicely appointed rooms (think W Hotels). This has the potential of being really interesting inside.

Currently the project is in the city planning and approval process with a goal of starting construction in early 2017.

Source: SVBJ

Federal Realty Building 1 Million SQFT of Office Space Across from Santana Row

Federal Realty is changing their development plans for the former Winchester Theaters parking lot across from their flagship property, Santana Row. Residential has been completely removed from the project. Instead, they have decided to double-down on offices and develop a million square feet of high-end commercial space across six buildings. Each of those will range between six and nine stories, with parking taking the first three floors on the majority of the buildings. There is no surface parking, all 2,545 parking spaces will be in the garages.

There will be at least one retail component, a 29,000 SQFT grocery store that I'm sure will be popular with residents across the street at Santana Row. There is also a big question mark on what Federal Realty will do with the only Dome that was saved (which you can see on the lower left of the first render below). Speculated use has ranged from a performance arts theater to a beer garden.

This won't be the only major project in the area. Westfield is well underway with a $600 million expansion of Valley Fair. Plans have been submitted for a 12-story boutique hotel at 2850 Stevens Creek, where a gas station currently sits. There is also a proposal for 650 new apartments at 881 S. Winchester Avenue (replacing a 216 unit project), and another one for 160 residential units along with 12,000 SQFT of retail at 751 S. Winchester.

The neighborhood is certainly going to look quite a bit differently in a few years. Hopefully the new Bus Rapid Transit line will be operational by the time these projects are completed. A new Winchester Advisory Group has been meeting to great a plan with recommended transit improvements. At least the office project will not add to weekend traffic and will add much needed parking spaces to the Santana Row/Valley Fair area.

Source: SVBJ