South FIRST FRIDAY Dec 1st, 2023 in #DTSJ #ArtwalkSJ

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back today with exhibits across multiple galleries in three different districts. Everything is open from at least 5-10pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, Natural Do Salon, 1Culture, San Jose Jazz, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

Worth noting this month is a "drop in" evening of big band arrangements and Christmas favorites at the San Jose Jazz Break Room between 7pm-8:30pm. Symphony San Jose is also doing an open rehearsal for their concert American Portrait from 7:30pm-10pm at the California Theatre.

It all goes down today, December 1st. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across all three different districts.

Santa Run Silicon Valley is coming to San Jose on Dec 17th

Are you ready to join thousands of Santas, elves, reindeer, and other festive characters for a fun and charitable event in Downtown San Jose? If so, mark your calendars for December 17th, when the 12th Annual Santa Run Silicon Valley will take place.

The Santa Run Silicon Valley is a 5K run/walk that benefits Christmas in the Park and the Downtown Streets Team, two local organizations that work to make San Jose a safe, clean, and vibrant place for everyone. The event is organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation, which also produces the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot and the Lam Research Heart & Soles Run.

The Santa Run Silicon Valley is not just a race, it's a celebration of the holiday spirit. Participants are encouraged to dress up as their favorite holiday character or tradition, and enjoy the festive atmosphere at the start and finish lines. There will also be a costume contest, a kids reindeer dash, and a virtual run option for those who can't make it in person.

The race starts at 8 AM at W Santa Clara Street and Almaden Avenue, and follows a scenic route through Downtown San Jose. The finish line is at Christmas in the Park, where you can enjoy the beautiful displays and attractions. You can also visit the nearby Winter Wonderland for some ice skating and carnival rides.

If you want to be part of this merry event, you can register online at https://www.santarunsv.com/ until December 16th, or on race day at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce. The registration fee is $45 for the 5K Santa Run and $25 for the Kids Reindeer Dash (ages 2-7). You can also sign up as a Holiday Hero for $500 or $1000 and get extra perks like VIP parking, a private tent, and recognition on the website. All proceeds go to support Christmas in the Park and Downtown Streets Team.

Don't miss this chance to have some fun, get some exercise, and give back to our community. The Santa Run Silicon Valley is a San Jose tradition that you won't want to miss!

Former Senter Road DMV could be replaced with 372 new homes

Earlier this year the DMV at Senter Road across from Costco permanently closed its doors (it was always designed to be a temporary office). Now developer HC Investment Associates wants to construct three new buildings on that site with a total of 372 residences.

Details are scarce since this is early on in the process. It's not clear if these will be condos or apartments or if there will be an affordable housing component.

HC already has another San Jose property in development at 70-80 N. 27 St. in Little Portugal. They are replacing a two-story commercial building (Portuguese events hall) with a five-story residential building containing 198 homes.

Source: SVBJ

Tunneling in San Jose could be much cheaper in the near future

Most people don't see disruptive technology coming. It's often met with a lot of skepticism. There are plenty of famous quotes about computers or the internet. In 1943 The president of IBM said "I think there is a world market for about five computers." In 1995 Newsweek published an article that said, “The internet is just a fad.” However, even today in markets that have been stagnant for decades or even a century we're seeing disruption.

People laughed when Elon wanted to build electric cars. Tesla is now worth more every other car company combined. They laughed again when he wanted to start a rocket company. Today there are 7,702 active satellites in space--5,000 of them belong to SpaceX. By the end of next year, SpaceX will have launched more satellites than every government entity around the world combined over the past 66 years. So now... of course, there had to be much skepticism in the San Jose development community about the Boring Company. Tunnels have been built almost the same way for 100 years, what could the company possibly do differently?

Apparently a lot. The Boring Company already has a functioning tunnel network in Las Vegas with 4 active stations and capacity for 5,000 people/hour. It took one year to build. That will expand to 69 stations and capacity for over 100,000 people/hour over the next few years (not decades). They have managed to get to a cost of $10 million/mile for 14-ft wide tunnels with 2nd generation tunneling machines using EV motors and batteries. Now it looks like they might be able to triple tunnel construction speed with hexagonal wall tiles.

The big benefit is that all the pieces are exactly the same, cutting costs significantly. Fewer segments are required per mile and it enables continuous mining. There are challenges and disadvantages as well, especially around water, but if they can push through them they will very likely disrupt tunneling. It gets a bit nerdy, but there is a 15min video in the source link below that goes into exactly how this new process would work versus existing methods.

What this means for us, is perhaps there will be a future where we can bring VTA Light Rail underground or perhaps offer Personal Rapid Transit (autonomous pods) or other forms of transportation at a lower cost to San Joseans. After seeing BART costs swell to $2 billion per mile for the Downtown San Jose extension, there has to be a better solution long-term for other projects.

Full disclosure that San Jose did reach out to The Boring Company as an option to connect San Jose International Airport with Diridon in Downtown San Jose. They never responded to a RFI and things fell through. 

That doesn't mean there couldn't be other opportunities in the future to work together. A fun fact is that the original Tesla factory was supposed to be in North San Jose/Alviso. However, an opportunity to take over NUMMI presented itself in 2010 and the rest is history. Hopefully the door is still open for The Boring Company and San Jose to work together in some capacity.

Source: nextBIG Future

New San Jose mixed-use project moves forward with 1,100 homes and a Whole Foods

A massive project could be headed for a shopping center at the corner of Saratoga and Lawrence Expressway across the street from Westgate. The area would be developed into a mini-Santana Row anchored by Whole Foods. In total, it would have 1,100 residential units across several multi-story buildings sitting on top of 165,000 SQFT of retail. 

The Whole Foods would be the only single-story building on the property (to simplify financing and construction). However, that is just 43,000 SQFT of the overall project. The layout would include a retail "main street" and a new neighborhood park. 

Unlike most new projects of this scale in San Jose, there won't be an affordable housing component. Everything will be market rate. However, increasing the overall housing supply has a negative effect on prices across the board and 1,100 homes is a significant number.

Source: The Mercury News

Spend $125 at San Jose Downtown Businesses and get a $25 gift card

In the spirit of supporting local San Jose businesses, the San Jose Downtown Association is offering a special promotion this holiday season. If you spend $125 at Downtown San Jose businesses between Nov. 24 and Dec 24th, they will send you a $25 gift card.

Downtown San Jose in this case is defined as the Business Improvement District. Just provide the receipt(s) from any retail store, restaurant, cafe, museum, theatre, or entertainment venue located within the highlighted area in the map below and claim you gift card over here.

There are some exclusions such as touring shows, Sharks tickets, parking, and stays at hotels. 

Winter Wonderland is officially open in Downtown San Jose 🎡🎄

A holiday carnival is now in full swing adjacent to San Jose's Christmas in the Park. Rides include a nearly 70-foot tall Ferris Wheel, a Carousel, an Alien Invasion centrifuge, Tilt-a-Whirl, a Dragon Wagon coaster, and many smaller rides for younger children. Tickets are $5 a ride for the major attractions.

After three years of street closures on Park Avenue (and the whole COVID thing), Winter Wonderland is back in full force! You'll find rides both on Park Avenue and Paseo de San Antonio. The Park Avenue rides will be oriented for older kids, teens, and adults while the Paseo will have rides ideal for younger children.

Winter Wonderland Ride Hours

• November 25 - 26: 12pm - 11pm

• November 27 - 30: 3pm – 10pm

• December 1 - 3: 12pm – 11pm

• December 4 - 7: 3pm – 10pm

• December 8 - 10: 12pm – 11pm

• December 11 - 14: 3pm – 10pm

• December 15 - January 1: 12pm - 11pm

804 new home proposed in Alviso next to San Jose's Topgolf

There are several large parcels in Alviso earmarked for major development, the first of which became Silicon Valley's first Topgolf. Another that was supposed to be an entertainment and retail center has transitioned to become a future data center. Now a parcel that was originally going to be a hotel is pivoting to homes, and quite a large number of them.

Genesis Commercial Capital wants to build 804 new homes on a 3.2 acre site on North First Street right next to the Topgolf--see map below. They are utilizing the state's builder's remedy to expedite and streamline the approval process (the same builder's remedy that is also sometimes weaponized to downsize previously approved projects).

At least 20% of the homes will have to be earmarked as affordable housing. Currently there is no target ETA, but given how badly San Jose needs housing I think it will be a quick approval and more in the hands of the developer on how soon they want to move dirt and get the project up and running.

Source: SVBJ

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Warm wishes to you and your family from your friends at The San Jose Blog!

SJMADE Holiday Fair 2023 - Largest Holiday Craft Fair in Silicon Valley

SJMADE's flagship event is back on Nov 24th and Nov 25th (Black Friday and Small Business Saturday). This free event has over 425 vendors, mostly made up of artists, makers, and local entrepreneurs. This year there isn't a single empty space, every booth is spoken for. Last year it took me over two hours just to quickly walk through and look at every vendor.

Concessions are available outside Halls C & D and additional on-site food and drink concessions can be found near the main entrance outside Hall A. The first 1,000 attendees each day will also get a door giveaway, which is always an item not available for purchase.

Admission is free, parking is free, it's open to all ages and runs from 11am to 7pm each day at the Santa Clara Convention Center (5001 Great America Parkway). There is also a VTA Light Rail stop right outside the event. To see the full vendor lineup and a map--which you'll probably need--head over here.

518 new apartments in San Jose's Japantown are already 95% leased

Shea Properties and Ivanhoe Cambridge launched Sixth and Jackson luxury apartments in Japantown earlier this year, named after the cross streets where you can find the 518-unit complex. Even though it just opened pretty recently, the property is already 95% leased. This goes to show how strong the San Jose housing market is right now, even with floorplans starting at $2,656/mo for a studio and scaling to $5,200/mo for a three bedroom unit.

The project is split between two seven-story buildings with tons of amenities like a yoga room, rooftop lounge, dog run, co-working spaces, meeting rooms, a spin room, outdoor entertainment areas, Shea Properties also built a new public park between the buildings called Heinlenville Park, named after the person that helped transform the neighborhood in the late 19th century. The park will eventually have a $30 million arts incubator and community center, but construction on that project hasn't started yet.

It's quite an upgrade for Japantown, one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Jose. It's great that they were able to integrate so many community elements into the project and there is still quite a bit of retail on the ground floor available for lease to further enhance the area in the future.

Source: SVBJ

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 2023, a San Jose Thanksgiving tradition

This is the 19th edition of the annual 5K/10K run/walk that benefits five local charities: Healthier Kids Foundation, Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Second Harvest Food Bank, The Health Trust and The Healthier Kids Foundation Santa Clara County. 

This is your chance to burn some calories before indulging in a delicious Thanksgiving feast, while also supporting a great cause. Plus, you'll get to enjoy the beautiful scenery through Downtown San Jose, Japantown, and The Alameda; live entertainment along the course; and a swag bag that includes a long-sleeve tech shirt, a finisher medal, and a reusable water bottle. 

Don't worry if you're not a seasoned runner. The Silicon Valley Turkey Trot is open to everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. You can choose to run or walk at your own pace, or join a team with your friends, family, or coworkers. You can also register your kids for the Kids Fun Run, which is a half-mile loop around Plaza de Cesar Chavez. And if you're feeling extra festive, you can dress up in a turkey costume or any other creative outfit. Trust me, you won't be the only one!

The Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 2023 will take place on Thursday, November 23rd, starting at 7:30 a.m. at Santa Clara Street and Market Street. The registration fee is $45 for adults and $20 for kids until November 15th, after which it will increase to $50 and $25 respectively. You can register online at www.svturkeytrot.com or in person at any of the packet pickup locations listed on the website. Don't miss this opportunity to join thousands of your fellow San Joseans in a fun and meaningful tradition that makes our city so special.

See you at the starting line!

  

Break Stuff - San Jose's "stress relief demolition center"

I have heard of "rage rooms" before but didn't actually know of one that existed in San Jose. Before getting into a flurry of Thanksgiving and Christmas posts, I figured I would plug one option for getting your stress out before the holidays.

"Break Stuff" is a place that celebrates exactly what the name implies. It's the Bay Area's first and only stress therapy demolition center. Their purpose is to provide a venue that encourages controlled chaos, and by that I mean you get to break all sorts of old TVs, computers, glass bottles, garden gnomes, etc... whatever your heart desires.

Their packages range from $100 for 30 minutes of B.Y.O.B. (bring your own stuff to break) to $200 for 6 electronics and 60 glass items that they will provide for you. They have two rooms that can each hold 5 people at a time. If breaking things isn't your cup of tea, they also have axe-throwing.

Break Stuff has a Yelp rating of 4.8/5 with 256 reviews, which is very impressive. If you are looking for a unique corporate event or alternative way of hashing out family drama, it's worth a shot! Break Stuff is located at 860 S. 1st Street (between Camino and Clandestine Brewing) and is open Thursday through Sunday. You can read all of the rules and make reservations over here.

San Jose ranked as 2nd best city to go to for Thanksgiving 🍗

Thanksgiving is one of America's favorite holidays and US families spend an average of $325 per person (!) during Thanksgiving weekend. This also includes your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping.

WalletHub decided to look for the best cities in the US to celebrate Thanksgiving using 18 different metrics divided across five major categories: local celebrations and traditions, affordability, safety, volunteering, and weather.

San Jose came in 2nd place in the Thanksgiving rankings right after San Francisco. San Diego gobbled the 3rd spot. Despite an abysmal affordability rank, San Jose ranked highly in celebrations (think Turkey Trot), safety, giving thanks (volunteering), and of course weather. I love those Indian summers where we have gotten to celebrate Thanksgiving outside with family.

Source: WalletHub

SJSU is officially taking over the Signia (former Fairmont) South Tower

San Jose State University and developer Throckmorton Partners have agreed to acquire Signia's South Tower. Throckmorton will purchase the building for $73 million and lease it to SJSU. Another $40 million will be spent on improvements and fees. 

This building was previously know as the Fairmont Annex and has Morton's and Bijan Bakery on the ground floor today. Going forward the building will be known as the Spartan Village on the Paseo.

SJSU will convert 264 hotel rooms that are occupied some of the time to housing for 700+ students that be there for most of the year. It should have a net positive effect on foot traffic and density around Plaza de Cesar Chavez. It will also force SJSU students to go through several blocks of Downtown San Jose as they travel to and from campus, giving them more exposure to the area around campus. It's a great location and any student would be lucky to have their dorm in this building.

Renovation of the lobby and second-floor mezzanine into a student-centric environment will begin almost immediately with amenities such as a large dining area, fitness center, a games room, and co-learning spaces. 

I have been wondering what will happen to the giant bridge that connects the Signia's main tower to the South Tower. Turns out that is part of the sale as well and it will become a study lounge, perhaps one of the coolest places to study in any SJSU dorm. There is also an underground tunnel between the buildings used by housekeeping. It's not clear if that will be incorporated in some way as well.

Unlike new construction, students will not have to wait years for the building to arrive. The dorms should be ready for the 2024-2025 academic year, which starts next Fall. 

Source: The Mercury News

San Jose luxury apartment complex on The Alameda may become affordable housing in 2024

In an interesting pivot, Catalyst Housing Group is trying to acquire Modera - The Alameda and convert the property into affordable housing. The big question is... why?

Modera is a 168-unit apartment building that is being marketed as luxury apartments. It's literally located next to a Whole Foods and is blocks away from the SAP Center, Diridon Station, and the rest of Downtown San Jose. The Alameda is also a great neighborhood in its own right. 

While I think for-sale affordable housing will be better for the neighborhood as residents will stay in the community longer than those in apartments, it raises a lot of questions as to why Modera is for sale in the first place. It it struggling to maintain a profit or do the owners just want to cash out? Have they lost optimism in the location after Google delayed their Downtown West plans? (It's very close to that as well).

If anyone has additional insights or perhaps even lives in the building, please post your thoughts in the comments or on X (Twitter).

Source: SVBJ

Eight-story apartment building proposed near future San Jose Google campus

A restaurant called Con Sabor a Mexico on 500 West San Carlos Street might become the site of an eight-story apartment building. The address is significant since it's in the "Downtown West" neighborhood that Google eventually wants to turn into an urban campus in the Downtown San Jose.

The proposed building would have 90 apartments across eight floors, and 2,670 SQFT of ground-floor retail. Based on the initial render it looks like it will include some amount of parking. I don't quite understand the grid on one side of the building. Those could be some form of child-safe balconies or interior hallways that allow airflow to pass through.

Even without factoring for the Google campus, the location is a few blocks away from Diridon station and a few blocks away from Discovery Meadow and the Guadalupe River trail. The site would be extremely convenient for Adobe employees as well.

So far the development plans are preliminary and there is no formal ETA.

Source: The Mercury News

Stunning new illustration of Downtown San Jose

It's a pretty small community of people that make art specifically about San Jose. I'm a big fan of Phillip Gonzales from West Coast Artworks who prints original illustrations highlighting our city with a pinch of creative license on museum-grade canvas. I have bought two of his pieces in the past, SoFA district 1.0 (3rd one down) and Downtown San Jose (fourth one). Everyone that sees them at my house loves them.

He has a new work that is simply titled San Jose Downtown 2023. It features the Downtown San Jose skyline from the 280 and 87 intersection. If you look closely you'll spot some of our newer high-rises like 200 Park and the Miro Towers.

Phillip is also working on a couple of new pieces that should be ready in a few weeks. To go through all of his work, head over here. I'll also update my X and Facebook banner temporarily in honor of the new work!

Owners of the San Jose Flea Market cutting office components entirely and dramatically downsizing housing plans

The original plan for the San Jose Flea Market next to San Jose's only existing BART station was for 3,450 residential units (yellow in image below), 3,400,000 SQFT of commercial (teal), a 5-acre urban market (red) and a 1.4 acre public park and open space (green areas). Grey is parking.

Sadly, the owners have changed direction and have completely eliminated office space from the project. The new plan will only have 940 homes and 45,500 SQFT of ground-floor retail space.

They are taking advantage of a loophole in the builder's remedy--which streamlines approval for certain residential projects designed to encourage more housing and development--to actually reduce the size of the project. It's a classic example of good-intentioned law (like rent control) causing the exact opposite effect. If it were not a builder's remedy, San Jose could more easily reject the project and require higher density.

San Jose needs to build about 60,000 housing units over the next eight years to keep up with demand and State requirement. By taking this many homes off the table, it will be a huge step back.

Given the proximity to some of the largest tech companies in the world and immediate access to BART, this site easily could have become another Santana Row over the next decade. Plus its a destination easy to get to from anywhere in the Bay Area. Now, with the scaled back plans it will greatly undermine this opportunity. It may not have the critical mass necessary to pull anyone into San Jose as a destination and will barely make a dent on our housing requirements.

If a dense redevelopment of the San Jose Flea Market site is truly off the table, the next best step would be to quadruple down in Downtown San Jose to hit our target. The infrastructure and space for dense development is already there. Eliminate as many fees and bureaucratic steps as possible for large-scale residential development and let's get that housing built!

Source: SVBJ, SVBJ(2)

San Jose's bike-sharing program is expanding with 650 new e-bikes 🚲

By the end of this year, San Jose will increase their number of e-bikes by close to 60%. San Jose has gone to great lengths to make biking safer in San Jose over the past several years: increasing the number of dedicated bike lanes, creating protected bike lanes, and improving trails. This will help more people utilize the new infrastructure without having to haul their bikes with them or worry about them getting stolen.

San Jose will also get 21 new docking stations, which also charge the bikes. The good news doesn't end there. Annual memberships to the bikeshare program will drop from $169 to $150 and per-minute usage charges are dropping from 20 cents to 15 cents. In 2024 there will also be a discounted membership for college students. For low-income San Joseans, the membership cost is only $5 for the first year and $5/mo after that. 

It's the least expensive way to get around the Downtown San Jose area besides walking.

Source: SVBJ

San Jose Downtown Ice prepares for busy skating season starting Nov 17

Downtown Ice is back this year with one of the most unique ice rinks in the US. You can skate on two concentric circles surrounding palm trees across from San Jose's famous Christmas in the Park event. It officially starts on November 17th with a grand opening celebration on November 20th. For all of the details, the full press release is below.

SAN JOSE – San Jose Downtown Ice opens Nov. 17 for families from throughout the Bay Area who have made ice skating at the iconic rink a holiday tradition.

“This is Downtown Ice’s 26th season since its debut in 1994,” said Alex Stettinski, CEO of event partner San Jose Downtown Association.  “Children whose parents took them to skate downtown years ago are now moms and dads bringing their kids to enjoy our rink and all that downtown San Jose has to offer during the holidays.”

The circular rink located in and around the Circle of Palms plaza at 120 S Market St. will be open daily through Jan. 15. Ninety-minute sessions will occur every two hours.  Tickets can be purchased online at sjdowntownice.com.

 

Special Ice, the largest operator of seasonal outdoor rinks in California, will produce this year’s skating experience.

“Downtown Ice is an iconic event that leaves a lasting impression,” said Emery Lykins, president of Special Ice.  “We’re excited to be a part of the rink’s history, to contribute to this amazing city and hopefully usher in a revitalized future for the rink.”

Downtown Ice organizers hope for a second consecutive season of local and out-of-town guests surpassing pre-pandemic levels of 2019.  A recent report shows that the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is downtown San Jose’s busiest, with almost 20 percent of last year’s 2.8 million visitors to the center city spending several hours within a three-block radius of the ice rink.  

Downtown Ice is nestled in the Circle of Palms plaza between the San Jose Museum of Art and the Signia by Hilton San Jose hotel.  The rink will join the rejuvenated Christmas in the Park displays as well as the popular Winter Wonderland amusement rides in the center of downtown’s major seasonal attractions.

Adding to downtown San Jose’s vibrancy and appeal as a weekend destination during the season are stage performances including two versions of The Nutcracker, concerts, Sharks hockey, museums and galleries, restaurants and shopping. Visit sjdowntown.com for events and downtown details, and parksj.org for parking information.

Downtown Ice has exciting skating promotions planned this season including:

• Sunday Show Tunes, presented by Broadway San Jose, where skaters can vote for their favorite Broadway songs; 

• Learn-to-Skate sessions;

• Family Skate packages; 

• The Grinch will be at the rink from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 25 to greet skaters and promote Broadway San Jose’s Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical in town Nov. 28-Dec. 3; 

• The Ice Queens will entertain skaters Dec. 8 with a  performance, meet-and-greet and photo opportunity; 

• Signia by Hilton offers a Shopping and Champagne package for stays between Nov. 17 and Dec. 31 that includes two tickets to Downtown Ice; round-trip transportation with Lyft to Westfield Valley Fair; and a Bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.

 

In addition, check sjdowntownice.com for a limited number of special $10 tickets for Opening Day Nov. 17 and the Grand Opening Celebration Nov. 20.  On both days, skaters are encouraged to look their best or be in costume for possible social media and television news coverage. The Opening Celebration at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 20 features emcees  Sandra Cervantes from Telemundo 48 and NBC Bay Area's Mike Inouye.

San Jose Downtown Ice sponsors include Jay Paul Co., Kaiser Permanente, Creekside Socials, Adobe, Broadway San Jose, City of San Jose Environmental Services Department, San Jose Earthquakes, LS Power Grid, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo 48.  The City of San Jose funds the event as well.

“It takes a lot of support and work behind the scenes to build and operate this rink, but it’s so worth it when you see the laughter of the kids and the joyful moments and memories shared by all the families,” said Lykens, whose business also has Northern California rinks this winter in Walnut Creek, San Ramon and Folsom .

 ###

Event Snapshot

San Jose Downtown Ice - Nov. 17, 2023-Jan. 15, 2024 

Downtown Ice is a traditional seasonal event for families and friends who twirl and skate amid concentric circles of 32 palms, under a canopy of stars on an iconic skating rink in the heart of downtown San Jose’s biggest attractions.

Information and tickets :  sjdowntownice.com.

Direct ticket link: sanjose.ticketspice.com/san-jose-downtown-ice-23-24

Instagram:  instagram.com/sjdowntownice

Hours:  90-minute sessions start every 2 hours: 11 a.m.; 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m.

• Open 11 am - 9 pm from November 17 - December 15

• Open 11 am -11 pm from December 16 - January 1 (9 p.m. session added)

• Open 11 am - 9 pm from January 2 - January 15

Location: 120 S. Market St., Downtown San Jose – between the San Jose Museum of Art and Signia by Hilton San Jose

Opening Celebration: Monday, November 20; 5:30 p.m.

Co-Emcees:  Sandra Cervantes from Telemundo 48 and NBC Bay Area's Mike Inouye 

San Jose ranked as the #1 most innovative metro in the US

San Jose and the San Jose metro (the true definition of Silicon Valley) have become synonymous with innovation. One of the ways we can gauge this is by the number of patents filed in each region. In this metric, San Jose completely crushes any other metro in the US with 9,798 patents filed last year. NYC came in second with 6,275 patents and San Francisco got the bronze with 4,919 patents. That is already extremely impressive. But that's not the whole story...

The San Jose metro has a population of 2 million people. NYC, the runner up, has a population of almost 20 million people (!!!). So despite having 10% of the population, San Jose still filed more patents than an area more populous than most States. Even when you look at our neighbors up North, the SF Metro includes Oakland and Alameda County and has a total population of 4.6 million. So again, despite being less than half the size we filed double the patents as the SF metro. This is a key reason why the US Patent Office decided to open a satellite location in San Jose, not San Francisco.

Make no mistake, we are still the innovation capital of the world by far.

Top 25 Most Innovative US Metros (Patents Filed)

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (9,798)

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (6,275)

San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA (4,919)

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (3,773)

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (2,091)

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (1,798)

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, VA (1,489)

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA (1,190)

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (896)

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA (812)

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (770)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL (761)

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX (626)

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE (532)

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (499)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (453)

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (404)

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN (321)

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY (315)

Raleigh-Cary, NC (289)

Bloomington, IL (282)

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (265)

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (238)

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT (235)

Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ (185)

Source: Bay Area Inno

Markers Market in the Park at Santana Row on Nov 11th

Tomorrow Santana Row is hosting a "Makers Market" featuring local entrepreneurs. Items for sale include jewelry, organic body products, candles, plants, home goods, apparel, glass, and even some CBD products. The best part is you can sip & stroll at the Makers Market. Grab your favorite cocktail to-go from Zazil, El Jardin, EMC Seafood (great Old Fashioned), Left Bank Brasserie, or Vintage Wine Bar and you can take it with you as you browse and shop between Olin Ave. and Olsen Dr.

The event is kid and fur baby friendly and runs from 11am-6pm tomorrow (Saturday, Nov 11th).