Downtown San Jose art installation will become a temporary skating rink

A temporary art project that was put up in the SoFA District in 2021 will soon become open to the public on a regular basis. The "Serpentine Pavilion" was supposed to be a placeholder for a three-tower project that was cancelled. Now it will become part of Unzipped Gardens Roller Rink and Beer Garden.

Today through Memorial Day, visitors will be able to rent skates and enjoy beer and food-truck bites while admiring the art piece. DJs and live bands will provide atmospheric music. The chain-link fences will also finally come down and be replaced with a more elegant permanent fence.

I have walked through the art project several times during special events and it is really impressive. I hope we find some way to preserve the tower or incorporate it into whatever future development takes place on this block.

The schedule for the roller rink and beer garden will be Fridays from 5-10pm, Saturdays from noon-10pm, and Sundays from noon-7pm. Skate rentals are $25 for adults and $20 for kids under 12, but skating is not required to walk in and hang out.

Source: The Mercury News

Rivian is officially coming to Santana Row

Santana Row has played a pretty significant role in the history of electric cars. It had the very first of hundreds of Tesla stores, which has been significantly expanded due to popularity. It's considered a flagship store and is usually the first location to get previews of new products such as the Robotaxi, Cybertruck, and many others. Porsche also has a presence on the Row, often highlighting their EVs such as the Macan Electric. There have even been numerous pop-up events featuring electric cars along the Santana Row park.

Now Rivian is jumping in on the action. They are going to launch a new electric vehicle gallery on the 300 block of Santana Row. This is right in the front near Yard House. They will likely be featuring their newest SUV, the R2. The vehicle launches next year and is designed for the mass-market with a starting price around $45k, putting it right in line with the Tesla Model Y.

Unlike Tesla, Rivian is not planning to do test drivers from the Santana Row location. However, they do have a service and demo center at 660 North King Road in San Jose.

Across the street, Valley Fair also has two EV stores: Lucid and Polestar. The general area has become quite the hotspot for electric cars.

Source: SVBJ

New vision with restaurants and retail along the paseo in Downtown San Jose

The real estate firm Hines has filed a proposal to revamp three blocks of commercial space in Downtown San Jose. The project is being called Paseo Place and it would transform the space that was once a mall called The Pavilion.

The goal would be to transform Paseo de San Antonio into a vibrant new hub and attract new restaurants, retail, and entertainment tenants. In order to create a more inviting pedestrian space, the project will add canopies, trellises, pots, street furniture, outdoor seating, planters, and lighting elements.

It should be noted that there are already several successful businesses in this area such as Eos & Nyx, Urban Putt, and Scott's Seafood.

I couldn't be more excited to see how this area will be transformed in the coming years!

Source: The Mercury News

Symphony San Jose presents BEETHOVEN’S EROICA

March “comes in like a lion,” and this tour-de-force program proves it. One of Beethoven’s most celebrated works, and the composer’s personal favorite of his compositions, Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) explores what it means to be human.  Newly-named Resident Conductor of the Nashville Symphony Nathan Aspinall will conduct. Richard Strauss’ tone poem, Death and Transfiguration, depicts the dying thoughts of an artist as he recounts the various stages of his life, all while awaiting the ultimate transformation. 

And Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, will mark Symphony San Jose’s first performance of a work by Arvo Pärt, the most performed contemporary composer in the world (beating out John Williams, John Adams, Thomas Adès, and Philip Glass).

Who: Symphony San Jose presents

What: BEETHOVEN’S EROICA

When: Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 2:30pm

Where: The California Theatre, 345 South First Street, downtown San Jose, 95113. Convenient, inexpensive parking is available at a city-owned garage one-and-a-half blocks from the theater at San Carlos Street with entrances on Second and Third streets.

TICKET PRICES: $24 to $121.50 (Ticket prices include $2.50 City Fee and Order Fee of $4.00.)

Special Youth Ticket price: A ticket for concert goers, age 17 and under, can be discounted up to 50% when purchased along with a full-price ticket.

TICKETS: Phone: 408.286.2600 

Website: www.symphonysanjose.org    

Email: jmeyers@symphonysanjose.org

Walk-Up Box Office: 325 South First Street, San Jose, 95113. Located between San Carlos and San Salvador Street next to the California Theatre. Ticket Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 10am to 5pm.

THE PROGRAM:

Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten

Richard Strauss: Death and Transfiguration

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

 

ARTISTS

Conductor: Nathan Aspinall

Biography: http://nathanaspinall.com/ 

 

Symphony San Jose

www.symphonysanjose.org/

55/110 x MACBBQ Blantons & BBQ

MACBBQ is an award-winning competition BBQ team based in the South Bay that travels all over the US for events. Tonight they are hosting a special BBQ event at 55 South to celebrate a their new hand-selected private barrel of Blanton's whiskey.

The event includes all-you-can-eat BBQ beef ribs, brisket sandwiches, pulled pork, pork ribs, chicken, and sides along with drink specials, give aways, and live DJs. You might also get an opportunity to sample their special bourbon.

For more info, head over here.

San Jose music pavilion takes another step forward

A long awaited Levitt Pavilion in the corner of St. James Park is getting closer to reality. The project would include a music pavilion, a reimagined park, picnic grove, garden, monument walks, fountain, dog park, and playground.

The city of San Jose would contribute $15 million to  $5 million would come from a local nonprofit called Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose.

When completed, it will accommodate up to 5,000 people for free, family-friendly concerts. Performing arts and community groups will also be able to rent the pavilion.

The developers are going to host a partial concert season during the construction phase until May 2026. The first full season of 50 free concerts is expected in 2027.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

Santana Row gains three more office tenants

One Santana West across the street from the famous Row has three new tenants and a brand new cafe. Calix is a cloud and managed services company leasing 22,990 SQFT on the 4th floor. They are moving from North San Jose in August. Better Help is taking 10,361 SQFT on the third floor while Pivot Interiors will take 15,000 SQFT on the third floor.

Those three leases will bring the 375,000 SQFT building to 70% occupancy, which is impressive given the current state of the market.

As a final bonus, a brand new cafe will be added to the first floor of the building in Spring. It might not be a full expansion of Santana Row, but I hope the cafe will live up to same standards set across the street.

Source: SVBJ

Massive North San Jose housing project advances

There aren't many large swaths of land left in Silicon Valley, but a few still remain in San Jose. The Sakauye and Karolewski families had one of those large blocks and have just sold 22 acres of prime land in North San Jose for $78.6 million. The land is at 2620 Seely Avenue, right off of Montague Expressway next to Cadence's headquarters.

The former orchard will become a whopping 1,472 homes. The breakdown will be 154 townhomes (by SummerHill Homes), 178 affordable units, 1,140 apartments, 19,000 SQFT of neighborhood retail, and a 2.5-acre city park. A farm site will also be preserved and moved to History Park.

There is no official ETA yet, but it can't come soon enough.

Source: The Mercury News

Free game night tonight

Date and time

Tuesday, February 18 · 5 - 7pm PST

Location

20 Barack Obama Blvd, San Jose

About this event

Learn fun Chinese and Vietnamese games, Majong and O An Quan, while enjoying snacks to welcome the new year. Fun activities like playing games can trigger the release of endorphins, promoting feelings of well-being and connection with others.

About the Musician

Maleli Raiyawa

MALELI!! is a folk singer-songwriter who turns heartbreak, identity, and cultural tension into music that’s emotionally vulnerable to a fault. Raised between suburban America and his father’s island heritage, he’s spent a lifetime navigating the space between belonging and feeling misunderstood. Through raw confessionals, spoken-word flourishes, and flashes of dark humor, Maleli’s songs confront mental health struggles, generational trauma, and the tangled question of who you’re supposed to be in a world that expects you to fit one narrow mold. Onstage, he wields his cannon of a voice and vulnerable storytelling like a boxcutter—slicing through knots of anxiety, grief, and longing. The result is a theatrical, raw, unfiltered sound that invites listeners to embrace their own complexities. For Maleli, music isn’t just an art form; it’s a lifeline and a safe haven—where every haunted heart and searching soul can find the courage to speak truth, shed shame, and keep running toward hope.

IG: @maleli.live

Transit-oriented developments in San Jose

TODGod posted a video earlier this month highlighting all of the TODs (transit oriented developments) in San Jose. He goes though the VTA Light Rail network station-by-station in the first 7 minutes in the video embedded below. There are more projects than I expected, and hopefully it will make a notable impact in the coming years.

Source: TODGod on Youtube