San Jose receives an Oscar-winner shout out

Last Sunday when John Ottman won an Oscar for best film editing on Bohemian Rhapsody, he also delivered a nice little surprise for San Joseans in his speech:

“Lastly, this goes to my parents on their fireplace mantle because they encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do when I was a kid whether it was writing music, which was a mystery to them, or making films in their garage on Normington Way in San Jose, California,”  

Normington Way is between Pinehurst and Thousand Oaks, just north of Oakridge. Apparently his first film was a spooky ghost movie which he made while attending Gunderson High School. Thanks for the shout out John!

Source: ABC 7 News

Boston Properties proposing massive office high-rise

Last week we talked about Adobe's 4th tower, which at 700,000 SQFT is essentially three San Jose high-rises put together side-by-side. Apparently, that is only the beginning of the mega-projects proposed for Downtown. Boston Properties has a proposal that dwarfs Adobe's new building.

Many years ago Boston Properties proposed three office towers are the corner of South Almaden and Woz Way. It would have been one of the most significant projects Downtown, but the economy killed the project. Now they are resurrecting it at double the original size. Instead of three towers, they want to build one single 17-story tower with 1.8 million SQFT of office space!

To put that in perspective, in terms of square footage that would be like building five new "Knight Ridder" (now KQED) office towers or three new convention centers. This one building would have more office space than the entire Salesforce tower in San Francisco. To really put it in perspective, it would be the second largest office building on the West Coast (second to Apple Park) and the 27th largest in the world.

If this moves forward, it would turn a surface parking lot into an amazing piece of real estate that would bring something like 10,000 jobs to San Jose. Check out the photos below. All I've got left to say is, wow...

Source: SVBJ

San Jose Spotlight - Our first nonprofit news organization for politics & business

For those looking for news and insight about San Jose and surrounding areas, there are a few existing publications. The most commonly known of these is The Mercury News, which covers all topics. Then there are more specialized sites like Silicon Valley Business Journal, which focuses on--you guessed it--business and development. Then there is San Jose Inside, which provides deep dives into political topics. The rest is covered by Bay Area regional news sites such as SF Chronicle, The Registry, KRON4, CBS Local, etc.

Enter San Jose Spotlight, the first nonprofit news organization focusing on politics and business in San Jose. As it is donation-driven, the organization may be in a unique position to tackle controversial topics within San Jose. As newspaper circulation and ad revenue declines (print and digital) across the world, it is exciting to see a local organization try a new model to survive and to take destiny into their own hands.

Their mission can be found on their website:

"Our community needs another voice, an alternate source for high-quality, independent local news. Our stories will search for truth, shed light on wrongdoing and hold the powerful accountable. We are the community’s newsroom and we’re powered by your support and donations."

San Jose Spotlight is co-founded by former Mercury News political reporter Ramona Giwargis, who leads a still growing but active team of journalists. You can subscribe to the newsletter, donate to the site, or explore all published content without a paywall on the website.

ParkStash

University parking can be a huge hassle, so a local SJSU student came up with ParkStash to tackle the problem. The app is like Airbnb for parking. SJSU has 15,050 commuter students and just 5,458 spaces available. Wish ParkStash, students can see how full the garages are and reserve a residential driveway to park in if needed. The driveways are a 5 minute walk from campus. This saves time and also provides a nice way for local residents or businesses to earn some extra income when not using their driveways.

1,784 students at SJSU are already using the app and they are expanding to DeAnza and SJ City College this year. While targeted for students, I don't see why anyone can't use it for easy parking Downtown. You can learn more about the app over here.

Adobe is planning to break ground on Tower #4 this year

Adobe is prepping a 18-story office tower that would be the largest office high-rise in San Jose. At 700,000 SQFT, it is essentially three traditional towers merged into one. The massive building could house up to 4,000 Adobe employees.

One unique feature will be a giant pedestrian bridge over San Fernando Street that will connect it to the three existing Adobe towers.The shiny glass building will also have four levels of parking above ground as well as some underground parking.

The current Adobe campus is a bit of a walled garden. Location wise, this sits a little bit closer to central Downtown, so hopefully employees will make it out to Santa Clara Street and San Pedro Square to help bolster local restaurants and businesses.

Source: SVBJ

Normal posting schedule resumes tomorrow

I'm sorry for drought of posts lately! I was in Asia for a couple weeks for work and am still trying to catch up. However, I did get to take a detour and see two very interesting places--Macau and Hong Kong.

Macau is the most densely populated county (technically a S.A.R. of China) on the planet with 73,350 people per square mile. That is basically triple the density of New York and quadruple that of San Francisco. What is interesting is that most of Macau is not super tall--there are only 20 skyscrapers in the whole country (buildings 492 ft or taller). Most of the buildings were 3-8 stories with retail on the ground floor.

Hong Kong on the other hand has the largest number of skyscrapers anywhere with 353 buildings over 492 feet tall. It also has thousands of "San Francisco" height high-rises, some of them 5-6 times wider than what you would see in the US. It was one of the cleanest, safest, and best-organized cities I have ever been too. It has one of if not the best subway system in the world and most trips cost $2. Also--sit down for this--it has one of the lowest rates of homelessness of any large city. The homeless rate is 0.02% in Hong Kong versus 0.5% in San Jose. Like San Jose, real estate prices are sky high and the weather is warm most of the year, yet somehow we have four times as many homeless as a city of 8 million with insane density and many public spaces.

So, I got to see two stereotypes dispelled first hand. 1.) You don't need a lot of super tall buildings to create density and a critical mass of people 2.) Density does not necessarily equal chaos, traffic, crime, and homelessness.

I'm happy to see there are many San Jose projects about to break ground or are recently proposed and I'll post about them over the next couple of weeks. If we do things right, it IS possible to increase density and quality of life at the same time!

Senado Square in Macau

View from the 110th floor of the ICC, tallest building in Hong Kong

Last minute Valentine's Day ideas

The San Jose Downtown Association has a few ideas for Valentine's Day procrastinators. There is still time to get a commemorative photo taken in front of XO at City Hall or make the Anti-Valentine's Day Happy Hour. To see the ideas, head over here.

Souresseau News: When Artists Flew Like Birds

This week's history video is about historic drawings from bird's eye views. Artists had to get pretty creative before planes and drones were around, and many of these drawings are incredibly detailed. Ironically the newer maps featured in the video had a lot less detail and were not to scale.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

When Artists Flew Like Birds from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

February 2019 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The FEBRUARY 2018 Downtown Dimension is now available at:

https://sjdowntown.com/wp_2016/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DTDFEB2019.pdf
In this edition:

• SJPD Capt. David Santos, the "Downtown Captain," answers questions about what makes his job special as he helps keep downtown safe.
• Update on BART -- back on track now and nearly fully funded.
• A look at WeWork's growth downtown and two of the organizations using it's desks.
• Four new restaurant openings.
• PBID takes care of trees from the roots up.
• Coming soon:  CINEQUEST & Winter Jazz Fest.
• Michelle Azevedo joins SJDA's staff as director of policy and operations.

For your information:

• Live and Local SJ supports live music in the center city.
• Traffic alerts keep up with lane and road closures and openings.
• Maps of downtown commercial property availability and development proposals.
• Boom City: SJDA's summary of new downtown building proposals and west side acquisitions.

Downtown Dimension is a leading source for information about downtown San Jose news, events and businesses.  Subscribe with a simple email to sjda@sjdowntown.com, subject line:  Subscribe.

For information about weekly downtown events, also subscribe to Downtowner Online.

Souresseau News: Horse Power!

This week's history video is about early transportation in San Jose--namely horses. It's difficult to imagine a time when blacksmiths used to be the most important people in town and a limo was a wagon pulled by 6 horses. Kick back and journey 110-120 years back in time with this short documentary.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

Electric Motorcycle Company moving to San Jose

San Jose is getting another cutting edge transportation company. Lightning is a manufacturer of high-end electric superbikes that can top 200 MPH and travel 100 miles per charge. They claim these are the fastest production motorcycles in the world.

Lightning has relocated from San Carlos to 6299 San Ignacio Way in South San Jose. The space is five times larger, which will allow them to expand their in-house design studio and R&D--likely bringing even more jobs to San Jose.

Thanks to Nio, Lightning, and several complimentary companies building EV components like Velodyne, San Jose is establishing itself as the Detroit of next generation vehicles. Even Tesla was originally planning to build their factory in North San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Souresseau News: When Letterheads Told a Story

This week's history video is about historic San Jose letterheads. Many of these were printed over a century ago and the quality of the artwork that went into them is quite impressive.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

SJC had its best year ever in 2018

Even with Lufthansa leaving SJC, the airport still posted a 10.7% year-over-year passenger growth in November. Overall passenger counts for 2018 were up a staggering 15%, making it by far the fastest growing airport in the region. San Jose now has 16.6% of the Bay Area air travel market while Oakland is at 15.9% (keep in mind Oakland was ahead of SJC until 2018).

In December, SJC broke their all-time passenger travel record. The previous record was 14,300,000 passengers and was set way back in the year 2000.

There are no signs of San Jose International slowing down. Several new flights are coming this year as well as six temporary gates that will serve as an introduction to a much larger expansion. I'm hoping we will get several new international routes this year.

Source: SVBJ, SVBJ (2)

Airbnb coming to Downtown San Jose

Another popular Bay Area company is making San Jose their home away from home. Airbnb is opening their first Silicon Valley office at 333 W. San Carlos Street. In an appropriate move for a sharing economy company, they are taking up about 50 seats from the 1,344 desks WeWork offers in the building. However, Airbnb is looking for a more permanent South Bay location in 2020, which hopefully won't be far from this office.

For more info, click the source link below!

Source: SVBJ

Souresseau News: Women at Work

This week's history video is about women in the workplace, starting with an 1860's photo of two San Jose female ranchers. While we still have inequalities in the workplace even today, it appears that there were more opportunities for women in San Jose many decades (or even a century) ago that I would have assumed.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

San Jose is the hottest housing market in the US

For the second year, Zillow has declared San Jose to be the hottest housing market in the country. High-salary tech jobs are continuing to drive prices and sales sky high. Currently there are 3.9 job openings for every 100 people in San Jose, giving us the highest rate of job openings of all large US metros. Combine that with the highest salaries in the US, and it is no surprise that our real estate market is still blazing hot.

There are some early signs of cooling. Population growth has slowed and inventory is creeping up. However, for now it's a really good time to be a home owner in San Jose based on Zillow's analysis.

Source: SVBJ

Souresseau News: Gateways and Arches

This week's history video is about San Jose's gateways and arches. Did you know that San Jose once had a welcome gateway for visitors near the Basset St. station on North First Street? Or that after the electric tower fell, the city built a gateway with an electrified San Jose sign?

To watch the two minute video, click here.

ShowPlace Icon is San Jose's new flagship movie theater

I'm a big fan of movies and was devastated when my favorite theater--Camera 12 shut its doors. Finally there is a new movie theater in San Jose that has enough character to fill those shoes and elevates the movie watching experience to the next level.

ShowPlace Icon is a 10-screen movie theater spanning two floors and 60,000 SQFT in Valley Fair Mall. All 1,474 seats are reserved loungers with electric footrests and heaters. Their largest theater is a 281 seat ICON*X premium large format room with a 4k laser projection and Dolby Atmos sound. What really made Icon stand out for me was the VIP section upstairs for those 21 and over. Up there you will find surprisingly good craft cocktails, an adult take on Icee's with flavors like "Frozen Margarita," a great food selection, and bacon popcorn. The whole floor looks like a lounge and has comfortable seating throughout. After entering their largest movie theater from the VIP section, you'll soon realize you are on a private balcony where you can continue to enjoy your fancy beverages and food. This is a great design that I hope others will copy.

I was fortunate to get a media preview of The Upside (great movie by the way). The seats were at least as comfortable as the recliners at CineArts or Cinemark Mountain View. The food and drink are for sure the best you can find in any South Bay movie theater. The video and sound quality were exceptional, we're talking IMAX-level. I also like the finishing touches throughout the theater like photos of San Jose and portraits of actors born in the Bay Area.

You can reserve a seat now at www.shoplaceicon.com. Prices are in line with other theaters and I highly recommend checking them out.

San Jose ranked fastest-growing city in the world, 2019-2035

As we already know, San Jose has one of the best performing economies anywhere. That does not seem destined to change anytime soon based on a new report from Oxford Economics. They are predicting that San Jose will have the fastest growing urban economy in the world over the next 16 years.

If the 3% GDP growth rate is correct, that means our economy will be 50% larger by 2035. The growth rate dwarfs San Francisco but would still not put us anywhere near New York or Tokyo in total economic contribution. However, those cities have much larger populations to work with. We do have the highest GDP per capita in the United States, which contributes positively to salaries and investment.

For more info check out the link below.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

Souresseau News: Signs

This week's history video is about San Jose signs. As you'll see in the video, the mid-century trend was neon. It would be amazing to restore the few signs from the video that are still around to their original glory.

To watch the two minute video, click here.

Orchestria Palm Court

Jordan from Searchlight San Jose has written about one of my favorite hidden gems in Downtown San Jose -- Orchestria Palm Court. This is undoubtedly one of the most unique restaurants in the Bay Area and is well worth a visit. It's part museum, part entertainment, part time-capsule (all the way down to the restrooms), and in-and-of-itself a solid restaurant. They even have a soda jerk bar!

Click here to read the post.

January 2019 Downtown Dimension Highlights

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The JANUARY 2018 Downtown Dimension is now available at:

https://sjdowntown.com/wp_2016/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/137084-1-DTDJANUARY2019-PP2.pdf

In this edition:

• Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice remains open through Jan. 27. It will be a featured attraction during both the College Football Playoff Jan. 1-8 and the NHL All-Star Game Jan. 25-27.
• Groundwerx has some new equipment and a new App to improve efficiency.
• MOMENT at San Pedro Squared won the Golden Nail Award of Distinction for outstanding architecture.
• Colliers International and Cohesity make moves toward their future downtown.
• An entire block of east Santa Clara Street between Second and Third  streets changes owners.
• Google continues to buy properties on downtown's west side.
• An independent firm concluded that High Speed Rail should not go underground through downtown.

If you missed SJDA's End-of-Year meeting, it is available on video at SJDowntown.com

Always available:

• Live and Local SJ supports live music in the center city.
• Traffic alerts keep up with lane and road closures and openings.
• Maps of downtown commercial property availability and development proposals.
• Boom City: SJDA's summary of new downtown building proposals and west side acquisitions.

Downtown Dimension is a leading source for information about downtown San Jose news, events and businesses.  Subscribe with a simple email to sjda@sjdowntown.com, subject line: Subscribe. 

For information about downtown events, also subscribe to Downtowner Online.

Stringent E-Scooter Regulations for San Jose

Guest Post by written by Samantha Larson

The San Jose scooter fad may come to a halt due to new legislation. Last week, the San Jose City Council passed stringent laws against scooter companies to help mitigate the serious safety concerns they present for residents.

To continue operating in San Jose’s city limits, scooter companies, such as Lime, Bird, and Wind, must receive a permit, pay an annual permit application fee of $2,500 and fork over $124 per scooter each year to continue operations. But with an estimated worth of $1 billion and $1.1 billion, these fees are merely chump change to Bird and Lime.

The real hard-hitting legislation is that these companies must also protect the city from legal claims and obtain sizable insurance. In addition to a rise in scooter-related injuries, scooters pose a serious threat to an already seriously high rate of pedestrian accidents in San Jose. To help combat these statistics, the ordinance will limit scooter speeds to 12 MPH, and come July, will force companies to find a solution to keep scooters off public sidewalks.

If companies fail to keep scooters off public property, the ordinance requires a 24-hour customer service line in three languages, English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, to respond to reports of improperly stored scooters within a two-hour window. Companies will also have to consider the socio-economic impact of their service: the ordinance mandates scooters will need to be equally distributed to low-income areas and provide discounts to low-income users. User data will be shared with the city of San Jose to track the number of devices and user behavior.

Any violation of the rules above will cost companies $100 for their first offense, rising to $500 fines for repeat offenders, with the possibility of having their permits revoked.

But San Jose is far from the only city passing stringent laws. Many cities nationwide are facing the duality of scooter presence; on one hand, scooters are eco-friendly and low-cost, but on the other hand, they pose a serious personal injury and public safety threat.

Since the birth of e-scooter dockless sharing began in February of 2018, it has helped San Jose towards its goal of climate change consciousness and Vision Zero. This being said, it has also birthed and exacerbated issues of pedestrian safety, equitable access, and rider education.

Though the ordinance is expected to come into practice by February, it is possible 2019 can bring even more changes for scooter services and rider expectations to best fit the needs and demands of San Jose city life.

Souresseau News: Waterways and Floods

This week's history video is about waterways and floods. Interestingly enough, in 1915 the Guadalupe River was briefly dammed to great a lake in Downtown San Jose (photo below). Another interesting tidbit is that Alviso has been flooded more often than any other part of San Jose (likely the reason why the region never took off).

To watch the two minute video, click here.

Happy New Year!

We wish all of the San Joseans and friends from neighboring cities out there a wonderful and prosperous 2019! Hopefully we will see our city grow in every way possible this year!

December 2018 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The DECEMBER 2018 Downtown Dimension is now available at:

https://sjdowntown.com/wp_2016/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DTDDEC2018.pdf

In this edition:

• Dec 4 is Google Tuesday, when the City Council decides whether to sell city-owned properties to the information company.  Our feature story focuses on what the vote is all about and why it's good for San Jose.
• SJDA Board President Michael Rewkiewicz takes a walk around downtown and sees signs of the city's promise fulfilled.
• Parking systems upgrades are coming in 2019.
• Plans evolve for the Jose Theater and Museum Place.
• Have you skated Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice yet?  Open through the holidays and most of January.
• Claudia's Pastes and The Hot Grill join the roster of downtown eateries -- both offering some unique menu items.
• Veggielution moves its operation offices downtown, thanks to All Good Work, an NYC-based non-profit whose mission is to keep other non-profits up and running in available co-working spaces.
• Enjoy 2018's Downtown San Jose for the Holidays!

Always available:

• Live and Local SJ supports live music in the center city.
• Traffic alerts keep up with lane and road closures and openings.
• Maps of downtown commercial property availability and development proposals.
• Boom City: SJDA's summary of new downtown building proposals and west side acquisitions.

Downtown Dimension is a leading source for information about downtown San Jose news, events and businesses.  Subscribe with a simple email to sjda@sjdowntown.com, subject line: Subscribe.

For information about downtown events, also subscribe to Downtowner Online.

Sourisseau News: New Almaden

This week's history video is about New Almaden, one of San Jose's most hidden neighborhoods. The Quicksilver (mercury) mine in New Almaden produced an incredible amount of wealth, more than any gold mine in the state. If you go to the site of the old mine today, there is actually a neat little museum there.

To watch the two minute video on New Almaden, click here.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

We hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.

If you have already done the standard San Jose holiday traditions at Christmas in the Park and Santana Row, you can go on an adventure through our neighborhoods. You can find the addresses of the most decorated homes in San Jose over here. Some even have light shows synced to music--it's worth the drive.

Happy Holidays!

Tiny homes for the homeless

San Jose is exploring a novel way to house part of our homeless community, currently around 3,231 people. The city is working with Gensler to build 80 "tiny homes" that would cost as little as $6,500 each to build. The homes are 80 SQFT but have a bed, storage areas, and a sitting area. Each also come with heating and cooling and three windows.

The plan is to build two pilot communities that would each have 40 of these homes, along with communal areas for cooking. Bathrooms would be placed in a temporary structure.

It may not seem like much, but this would greatly help those that need it most get back on their feet--not to mention reduce the population of our "tent cities." The goal is for residents of these homes to move to permanent housing within 6 months.

This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what we need in order to make an impact. Just doing more of the same does not seem to be working. Fingers crossed that this will help ameliorate one of our key social issues.

Source: SVBJ