January 2014 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The Downtown Association's Design Review Committee awarded three golden nail awards for Downtown beautification:
• The Gold Building (55 S market)
• CityView Plaza
• Orchestria Palm Court
• Aavid Design Corp is moving its nine employees from Cupertino to Downtown San Jose.
• San Jose's Department of Transportation officially opened the green, buffered bikeways along San Fernando from Cahill to 11th.
• The San Jose Civic Auditorium was rebranded the City National Civic.
• Essential Travel, a travel magazine based in the UK, said Christmas in the Park is one of the top 10 Christmas displays in the world.
• A new Business Coaching Center for those looking to launch or expand a business in San Jose is available at: sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=3457
• Ike's Sandwiches is open at 75 E. Santa Clara.
• Brix Nightclub at 349 S. First has been remodeled into the "Metropolitan" [Josh: I'm getting the impression that it is either no longer a gay club, or is at least trying to be more inclusive of those attracted to the opposite sex]
• Caffe Frascati owner has turned a 3-wheeled utility van into a portable espresso station (it premiered during the last South First Friday).
• 8 Treasure Restaurant is now open at 150 S. First, replacing Asian Gourmet.
• Power Bowl is open at 132 E. San Fernando and features authentic acai bowls and detox drinks.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Caffe Frascati Named One of the Best Coffee Shops in the World!

Huge congratulations to Caffe Frascati for making it to an international list of best coffee shops on BBC Travel. The quote is priceless "In my opinion, the coffee is, without a doubt, the best in both the US and the UK" [Josh: okay I did fix a small typo in there]. I have to agree that it is a super cool coffee shop with a quality product, loads of character, and a friendly owner that is passionate about what he does. The live music at night is a nice touch (Opera on First Fridays).

Source: I Heart SJ, BBC

Downtown San Jose Development Projects Map

There are so many big projects kicking off in Downtown San Jose, that we need a map to keep track of them all. Below is a nice one put together by the city that shows all projects that are under construction, in planning, and even goes so far as to highlight key areas for future infill development. You can click the map below to enlarge or access a PDF version right over here.

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE - CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

1. North San Pedro - 408 Units, Est. Completion 2016
2. Little Italy Developments
3. Santa Clara County Family Justice Center - Est. Completion 2015
4. St. James Towers - 612 Units, 10,000 SQFT Retail, Est. Completion 2016
5. Centerra - 347 Units, 7,000 SQFT Retail, Est. Completion 2015
6. Fairfield Mid-Rise - 195 Units, Retail
7. Hampton Inn & Suites - 197 Rooms, 5,900 SQFT Retail, Est. Completion 2015
8. Symphony Development - 127 Units (Student Housing)
9. One South - 312 Units, 6,000 SQFT Retail, Est. Completion 2015
10. Post & San Pedro Tower - 156 Units, 4,100 SQFT Retail
11. San Jose Convention Center $130 Million Expansion
12. Balbach Condos - 100 Units
13. The Pierce - 234 Units, 9,400 SQFT Retail, Est. Completion 2015
14. Parkview Towers - 197 Units, 5,000 SQFT Retail

Whiskies of the World 2014 @ SPSM

If you are a fan of whiskey, the San Pedro Square Market is hosting a substantial whiskey event with food pairings, a seminar, and of course tastings. Ignore the Christmas references below, I wanted to post this a bit closer to the event date of March 27th! For details and links just keep on reading.

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Mark your calendars and save the date of March 27th, 2014 for a very special event at the San Pedro Square Market in Downtown San Jose!

We are pre-selling tickets right now for this exclusive engagement (can someone say stocking stuffer!?)

Check out the eventbrite ticket link by clicking HERE.



Whiskies of the World Expo will treat both the whiskey connoisseur and novice alike with hundreds of the world’s most renowned whiskies. Coming in March, sample Scotch, Irish, American, Canadian, Australian, and Indian whiskies, bourbons, single malts, blends, and many other styles of liquid delicacies.

• Pair dishes with your favorite whiskies.
• Meet and share a dram with the whiskey stars, master distillers, blenders, and nosers.
• Attend a fun and informative whiskey seminar to learn first-hand and mouth from the whiskey experts.
• Come and be among the first to learn and experience a night of delicious spirited fun!

Don't forget to purchase tickets as a last minute Christmas gift for the Whiskey lover in your life by clicking HERE!

Robots Taking over the Tech Tomorrow

Cutting-Edge Robotics Take Over The Tech Museum of Innovation

Museum hosts entire day of human-robot interaction activities on MLK day

SAN JOSE, CA –Bust out moves to your favorite tunes alongside a humanoid robot as your partner. Hear from experts leading the social robot evolution. Build a robot comedian and laugh out loud. There may soon be a day when robots are integrated into our everyday lives, and even be able to anticipate and adjust to human preferences.

For an entire day, The Tech showcases a variety of social robots and guest speakers at the forefront of their field. NAO, a programmable humanoid robot from France’s Aldebaran Robotics, will perform dances to popular hits throughout the day. Guests can also program Play-i' Bo the Robot to play a xylophone, as well as engage with Furby and Pleo and see how they respond to actions.

Over in the RoboTheater, visitors can try their hand at design by programming a human robot to perform a variety of tasks before heading into The Tech’s Social Robots experience to design and build their own robot that makes them laugh. The museum will feature a special theme in the experience that day – Robot Comedians.

Special speakers include Intuitive Automata’s Cory Kidd and Professor Andrea Thomaz. Thomaz is an Associate Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and an innovator in the robotics field. Published in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Human-Robot Interaction, she is radically redefining how robots and humans interact.

WHO/WHAT: Special robot programming and special guests throughout the day featuring Georgia Tech’s Professor Andrea Thomaz, Intuitive Automata’s Cory Kidd, Play-i founders, NAO, and a bevy of engaging social robots. Free with Museum Admission.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. MLK day, Monday, January 20

WHERE: The Tech, 201 S. Market St., San Jose, CA

For more information and programming schedule, visit: http://www.thetech.org/

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the #1 Richest City in America

You will have to hit the source link for the video, but San Jose was named the Richest City in America. There were some shots of Downtown both at the beginning and the end of the video. What do they attribute San Jose's success to? Tech, tech, and more tech.

The #2 wealthiest city was Washington, D.C., followed by Bridgeport, CT in 3rd. San Francisco came in 4th while Boston rounded out the top 5.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Bobby Guz Man from the San Jose Development Forum

JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers at The Blank Club, Jan 21st

If you are craving some dirty blues and rock n' roll, then there's a great band coming The Blank Club next week that I think you'll enjoy. JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers has just released their third album entitled Wild Moon. You can get a little preview by watching the YouTube video below. The band was originally formed as an old-timey acoustic outlet for JD Wilkes, but has since become fully amplified as you can hear in the video. Grab some Kentucky Bourbon and enjoy.

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014
JD Wilkes and the Dirt Daubers
@ The Blank Club
San Jose, CA
Doors: 8:00PM
Show: 9:00PM
Tix: $10 // 21+

BASIS Private School Coming to San Jose

BASIS is responsible for some of the highest ranked charter schools in the country. There operate a dozen for-profit charters across DC, Arizona, and Texas. However, it looks like there are branching out to the private school system and are launching their first two in San Jose and Brooklyn.

The Silicon Valley campus will be located in Midtown San Jose (1290 Parkmoor) and will eventually accommodate 800 students. The plan is to offer education from grades 5 through 12, with tuition clocking in at $22,000 a year (wow, private schools are getting expensive).

The San Jose site was chosen deliberately so that they could be in the "heart of technological innovation." It seems like their culture will mesh quite well with Silicon Valley, which comes closer to a meritocracy than any other region in the world. BASIS does not believe in the traditional "elitist model of private education," there will be no boards made up of influential parents/donors, and there will be no fundraising efforts. The curriculum is heavily STEM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). 8th Graders have access to nine different math options and the curriculum will be both challenging and based on international standards.

This sounds like a school right up San Jose's alley! They are even constructing it in an office campus ;).

Source: SVBJ

1290 Parkmoor

SJMADE @ SJMA Today

Come check out a great event showcasing locally-made art and goods today at the San Jose Museum of Art. It is free to access the SJMADE mini-mart in the lobby, but you can also visit the galleries for just $5 after 5 PM.

January 16, 2013

5–8 PM
Admission to the workshop and galleries is just $5 after 5 PM (free for members).
Admission to SJMADE Mini Mart is free.

San Jose Made (SJMADE) is a platform for local San Jose makers, labels, brands, small businesses, and artists to showcase and sell current projects and goods. For one night only, SJMADE will gather a small group of its independent makers in SJMA’s lobby for our SJMADE Mini Mart. You can peruse the wares and then create a unique, up-cycled cup cozy or t-shirt bracelet with the help of GoGo Craft, a mobile crafting workshop that provides exciting and accessible make-and-take projects for participants at all skill levels. 

New $35M Hotel Project in North San Jose

Remember the old Piercey Toyota lot on North First near the airport? That is about to become not one, but two hotels. On the table is a 145-room Hampton Inn and Suites as well as a 140-room Home2 Suites. Unlike the SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn project also happening near the airport, each of these hotels will be housed in a separate building. However, I would be surprised if they did not share some of their resources and staff since the owner is going to be the same (Kalthia Group Hotels).

I know some of the urbanists that frequent this site will not be impressed with five-story buildings, especially along North First where we could theoretically go beyond 30. Personally, I'll take it over an empty parking lot any day of the week. North First seems under-serviced by hotels, and we need these resources to help entice more large companies to the area.

Source: SVBJ