VTA Proposing Increased Service in New Two Year Plan

VTA has been holding public meetings to review proposed changes to transit services, and there are quite a few items on the list that would impact San Jose residents. The two new lines that really caught my eye are Line 11 and Line 56.

Line 11 would directly link the Airport with Downtown San Jose! It runs from Diridon Station, past the Convention Center, down 1st Street, then onto Highway 87 and does a full loop of SJC hitting both terminals (see the map below). Needless to say, Line 11 would be extremely convenient for Downtown residents and visitors alike. The line would run every 30 minutes from 5am to 11pm, seven days a week. Service will hopefully begin in October of this year.

Line 56 runs between the Component Lightrail Station in North San Jose and the Sunnyvale Caltrain Station (via Arques/Scott/Central Expressway). This would improve access and transit options for all of the companies in the Golden Triangle, including the burgeoning Renovation Row area.

For all of the details, head over to this VTA page.

 

New Farmers Market Coming to Westgate Center

Federal Realty is continuing to take concepts from their flagship property--Santana Row--and inject them into Westage Center. Instead of being a small mall, they are trying to turn it into much more of a community destination. The latest improvement to Westgate is a new weekly Saturday Farmer's Market run by the West Coast Farmers Market Association (same group that oversees the Cupertino, Carmel, and Half Moon Bay markets).

I'm really liking the direction Federal Realty is taking this shopping center! See the press release below for more information.

Seasonal produce, locally-baked treats and handcrafted, artisan goods offered every Saturday at the San Jose shopping center

San Jose, CA – Organic fruits and vegetables, specialty baked goods, prepared foods, handmade soaps, honey and glassware are among the vendors that will be setting up tables at Westgate Center beginning Saturday, March 21.

The shopping mall is launching its first farmers market, in association with the West Coast Farmers Market Association, which also oversees popular markets in Cupertino, Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay and Carmel.

Among the vendors and their wares:

• Cipponeri Farms - vegetables and strawberries
• Hamlow Ranches - stone fruit such as apricots and peaches
• Medina Berry Farm - blackberries, strawberries, blueberries
• Anguiano Farms (based in Santa Maria) - berries, avocado, other produce
• J&M Farms – organic greens
• Squash Blossom – baked goods
• Jenny Chu - baked goods
• Fish Princess – handmade soaps
• David Patrick Blown Glass

Details: The farmers market will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday beginning March 21 in the center food court area next to Gong Cha.

Other events at Westgate Center:

Santa Clara Orchid Show and Sale, Thursday, March 19 to Sunday, March 22
The Santa Clara Valley Orchid Society is showing and selling flowers from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on
Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Photos with the Easter Bunny, Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22; and March 28 through April 4.
It's picture time with spring’s favorite furry friend! The bunny is ready for his close-up from 11 a.m.
or noon to 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. most days with breaks in the afternoon.
Please check www.ShopWestgateCenter.com for exact times, pricing and details.

Following an extensive $15 million renovation and the addition of new shops such as J. Crew Factory, Nike Factory Outlet and Gap Factory Outlet, restaurants such as Veggie Grill and a children’s soft play area, Westgate Center offers a convenient and dynamic shopping experience for the community.

About Westgate Center
Westgate Center, located in San Jose, California is a 645,000 square-foot community center offering a one-stop family destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Westgate Center features over 50 shops and restaurants and is anchored by Target, Nordstrom Rack, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Nike Factory Store, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, Michaels and Ross. Westgate Center is a property of Federal Realty Investment Trust www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit shopwestgatecenter.com.

About Federal Realty
Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Founded in 1962, our mission is to deliver long term, sustainable growth through investing in densely populated, affluent communities where retail demand exceeds supply.  Our expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like Santana Row in San Jose, California, Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland and Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts. These unique and vibrant environments that combine shopping, dining, living and working provide a destination experience valued by their respective communities.  Federal Realty’s 89 properties include over 2,600 tenants, in approximately 20.2 million square feet of retail space, and 1,500 residential units.

Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 47 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. For additional information about Federal Realty and its properties, visit www.FederalRealty.com.

Key Redevelopment Site Back on the Market

A key parcel across the street from City Hall is up for sale for $5.25 million. At 61,650 SQFT, this comes out to a very reasonable $85 per SQFT, especially when you consider this location. The block is zoned for a high-rise up to 285 feet tall and soon the only satellite US Patent Office on the West Coast will be located in City Hall. This corner would make an ideal office tower location, especially for corporate and patent lawyers and other support services complimentary to the Patent Office.

As for my dream scenario--I would love to see a mixed-use building here with retail on the ground floor, several floors of large floor-plate offices, and topped with hotel or residential. That would likely be the most efficient use of the space... but I would be happy with any high-density project here to be completely honest.

Source: SVBJ

Two Boeing 747s at SJC

If you have heard that San Jose International is too small to support Boeing 747s (or 777s for that matter), that information is completely false. There were two of them at the airport last week. The military charters 747s out of SJC twice a year, and in the cases of extremely bad weather at SFO they are sometimes rerouted to the airport as well.

However, just because SJC supports these planes doesn't mean we necessarily want them. They generate a lot more noise than smaller planes, especially the fancy new 787s that are being used for international flights to Tokyo and soon Beijing.

Source: The Merc, photo by LiPo Ching

Ballet San Jose Pulls Through

Ballet San Jose fortunately raised enough money to keep the doors open. The community rallied together and raised a total of $640,000, even more than the $550,000 needed for the show to go on. However, the Ballet troupe still needs to raise about $3.5 million by October in order to restructure into a more sustainable business model. For more information, visit the source link below.

Source: The Merc (Photo by LiPo Ching)

The Commons Performance Tonight at The Circle of Palms (6:45pm - 9:15pm)

The Commons is a music and performance showcase that has been doing a series of public works. Their goal is to bridge the gap between classical and contemporary performances. Their latest show called The Vernal Equinox and is tonight at the Circle of Palms in Downtown San Jose (between the San Jose Museum of Art and The Fairmont Hotel).

The show is funded by a Knight Foundation grant and is done in partnership with the San Jose Downtown Association, The San Jose Museum of Art, The Fairmont San Jose, Lazy Cocoon Sound, and Cellista Music.

For more information, check out the Facebook Page over here.

Source: Downtowner Online

2015 State of the City Address

Mayor Sam Liccardo delivered his first State of the City Address last weekend. Instead of using the City National Civic, the event was held at Independence High School. The location was appropriate since he spoke quite a bit about improving opportunities for those that live in East San Jose.

He also pledged to make safety a top priority and mentioned improving police compensation and staffing as two action items. Helping address the homeless situation and expanding after school and teen-job programs were also mentioned in the mayor's address, as was securing funding to bring BART to Alum Rock and Downtown San Jose.

Source: NBC Bay Area

Evergreen College Putting 27 Acres Up For Development

Anyone who has driven by Evergreen College or the intersection of Yerba Buena and San Felipe has likely noticed a huge empty dirt parcel. Evergreen College has decided that it will not need the land for future expansion of the college or the administrative building in the western section of the 27 acre parcel (the administrators have all moved to a building in Downtown San Jose). They are now seeking redevelopment bids for this piece of land which could include a mix of residential, retail, and office.

Evergreen College has already received one promising LOI (Letter of Intent) from Republic Urban Properties. Their proposal includes an urban/suburban project including 125-250 market rate apartments, 80-150 senior apartments, 40,000 SQFT of retail, 18,000-40,000 SQFT of office, a 45,000 SQFT gym, and an aquatics center that would be open to the public and would be used by the university. Republic Urban Properties would pay the College $1.5 million each year to lease the land.

There are some complications to the plan since the land is zoned as "quasi public" (is that an official designation?). The winning developer would need to request rezoning and would have to go through a new environmental review.

If successful, it looks like a promising development that would add value to the Evergreen community--both residents and the College.

Source: SVBJ