September 2021 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The SEPTEMBER 2021 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.
 
This month's newsletter highlights:  

• SJDA provides an overview of how it has responded to the Stabilization Plan released in August 2020 and meant to navigate the COVID crisis into economic recovery.
  Deemed most essential to recovery: Continued clean and safe services and the renewal of the Property Owners Business Improvement District.
  
• In August, SJDA hired a new Business resiliency Manager, Omar Torres, who will assist businesses with their economic recoveries.
• Groundwerx' Employee of the Month is Angelina Lopez.
• New businesses include Western International Securities, Rec Room, and Health Carbon
• An 87-unit affordable housing project breaks ground at Almaden Boulevard and Balbach Street.
• Newly named Barack Obama Boulevard will be part of Downtown West, surrounded by SAP Center, Diridon Station and Los Gatos Creek.

SoFA Street Fair

The SoFA Street Fair FALL EDITION is Sunday September 26, 2021, 2-8pm. After 2 years of virtual and hybrid events to keep the music playing, we are finally back LIVE on First Street, with the best local music and performance our San Jose scene has to offer. This event continues to be FREE, and ALL AGES are welcome. There are 8 outdoor stages and 66 live acts performing - all within 2 blocks. Rock bands, Alt bands, Punk bands, Latin bands, Jazz Bands, Singers, Comics, Wrestlers, and Burlesque Performers. There’s a little something for everyone. https://sofafall2021.sched.com

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.

San Jose is the ultimate electric car hotspot

In order to move the needle on climate change, one of the key transitions we have to make is to move towards sustainable transportation. Fortunately electrics cars are also usually fast and fun to drive, providing further motivation to make the switch. 

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that San Jose is the top metro driving the EV industry. It seems like every other car on the roads is a Tesla, but several new compelling EVs are also hitting the road these days.

Despite being the 10th largest city in the country, San Jose has the 3rd highest number of EVs of any city in the US irrespective of population. It also has 2.4 charging stations for every 1,000 homes, versus the national average of 0.3 stations.

A common complaint for renters interested in EVs is that there are no charging stations at their apartments. In San Jose 12.3% of all rentals actually have stations, which is by far the most of any city. Not to mention most grocery stores and shopping centers have multiple stations, with some places like Santana Row having hundreds of chargers (have a look at the 4th floor of the parking structure on Winchester Blvd).

San Francisco came in as the 2nd best metro for EVs followed by Seattle and LA. For the full article to see all of the criteria used for the study, click here.

Content Pick-Up Party 12.4 "Profiles"

San Jose's premier art & culture magazine is resuming their "pick-up parties" with issue 13.4 on September 3rd--conveniently coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk. You can pick up your latest issue at Parque de Los Pobladores between 6pm-8pm and then check out the galleries and restaurants of SoFA. They'll even have live music, visual art, and mini auto show. What sort of magazine does that for their subscribers?

Speaking of which, if you're not already a subscriber you can learn more about the magazine over here.

In partnership with First Friday Art Walk - Content Magazine celebrates the release of issue 13.4 "Profiles" at Parque de Los Pobladores.

About this event

Join Content Magazine for the first outdoor Pick-Up Party of 2021 on Friday, September 3rd from 6:00-8:00pm in partnership with First Friday Art Walk.

This Pick-Up Party celebrates the release of Issue 13.4 "Profiles."

Featuring:

Low Conspiracy | Warren Chang | San Jose Foos | Annmariz | Aulala Design | 2021 West Valley Fashion Designers | Kaylee Dougherty | Barely Funktional | HeadHunter Crew | FlipSide Lovers | Francisco J Zarate | Google Downtown West | Needle to the Groove Album Picks

Connect with one another in this open outdoor setting and experience a blend of music by Barely Funktional and FlipSide Lovers, along with special guest performances, and visual art by Warren Chang, Francisco J Zarate, Jackelin Solorio, and more. Plus a special visit by Low Conspiracy Car Club.

It is a packed two hour event. We hope you will join us and stay and explore First Friday Art Walk. Open from 5-10pm.

We have missed you and cannot wait to see you!!

This event is made possible by Heritage Bank.

Sundays in the Park with Arts: Hamiltunes

Every Sunday, St. James Park will host FREE performances by our talented arts organizations in the area. Viva Parks Downtown and Filco Events have come together to present this great series called "Sundays in the Park with ARTS" and it runs all the way until October 24th.

Each week, the event will run from 2-5pm on the grass in front of the Corinthian Building at St. James and Third. A professional stage, sound, and production system will be there each week. It's recommended that attendees bring chairs, a picnic basket, and blankets.

This week's event on August 29th features the San Jose Popup Choir leading the audience in HAMILTUNES -- the official public sing-along to the Broadway musical. SJ Popup Choir is the only officially licensed presenter of HAMILTUNES in the bay area, so it's one event you won't want to miss if you're a fan of the smash-hit musical. You'll be able to access all of the lyrics on your phone. Again, it's from 2-5pm this Sunday at Saint James Park.

SoFA will never be the same if these 6 towers get built

Feast your eyes on two projects consisting of three towers each in Downtown San Jose's artsy SoFA district. I love how these proposals continue to get more and more impressive with natural elements and rooftop amenities.

The first five renders below are a joint residential venture between Urban Community and Terrascape Ventures with 386 units. Two towers would be around 420 S. 2nd Street and clock in at 12 and 22 stories plus 8,000 SQFT of retail in a public plaza between the buildings. This is where the Dai-Thanh Supermarket and Dakao Sandwich shop currently stand. A third 20-story would rise on 420 S. 3rd St. and replace an old apartment complex. At least two towers would have an outdoor rooftop deck and lounge with trees and plants. The entire project would be built using mass timber and cross-laminated timber and operate with net-zero carbon emissions.

The next five renders are Westbank's "The Orchard" mixed-use project at the very entrance of SoFA from San Salvador Street. The towers looks great, but the ground-floor retail looks phenomenal! Currently, most of this proposal covers what today is a giant outdoor parking lot.

If just one of these projects moves forward, it will transform the area. If both make it, it'll be a revelation. It would triple the amount of foot traffic on most days and likely turn SoFA into an even more thriving area than San Pedro Square or the Historic District.

Sources: SVBJ, Aphelion2100 from the SJ Development Forum

August 2021 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The AUGUST 2021 Downtown Dimension is now available for download.   This month's newsletter highlights:   Fan favorite J BOOG will headline the only Music in the Park event this summer. Mark your calendar for Aug. 27 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Tickets are available.  Mayor and downtown councilmember make optimistic comments at Scott's Chowder House's second downtown grand opening. Promotion for SJDA's Chloe Shipp to director of public space operations. Sarah Billings takes over as street life manager Frank Chavez, Groundwerx's Employee of the Month, talks about the importance of cleaning downtown. San Jose Jazz Summer Fest joins Music in the Park and SV Pride and plenty of other events this month. Light rail to return this month. San Jose's Office of Economic Development releases federal and state loan numbers to San Jose businesses during the pandemic.