Downtown San Jose Walking Tours Return this Weekend!

If you haven't been on one of these walking tours yet, I would highly recommend checking this out even if you live Downtown and think you know everything about the area. The tour guides were as entertaining as they were informative, and the whole experience was a lot of fun! This next tour starts and ends at the San Pedro Square Market and is scheduled to begin right before lunch (11am) this Saturday. More info below:

JUNE BLOOMS DOWNTOWN WITH SAN PEDRO SQUARE WALKING TOUR THIS WEEKEND

This weekend enjoy a great opportunity to discover some of the unknown stories of San Jose and also support San Jose Walks & Talks, whose aim is to help students uncover some of their hidden talents as they prepare for their future careers.

This Saturday our one-hour Adobe to Adobe walking tour will start from the Peralta Adobe in San Pedro Square and visit some well known and some unknown downtown sites. Along the way student-guides tell some of the historic, funny, tragic and surprising stories of San Jose. Our guides are local San Jose students who’ve done their homework about the city of San Jose. Our guests are local residents and a few tourists… just about anyone who enjoys a walk and a talk.

If this weekend doesn’t fit into your schedule future tours can be booked in advance for your group, large or small, by contacting us at www.sanjosewalksandtalks.org  Go to our contact page to email us directly and we’ll be back in touch right away.

Our tours start in various neighborhoods downtown and are designed as a circular. Most tours cover somewhere between 2 to 3 miles and the starting location and time is sent to you by email confirmation. Public tours for individuals are currently free of charge but we hope if you enjoy the tour you’ll consider tipping the student guides. For private groups there is a nominal charge – contact us for more details.

Downtown San Jose Courthouse Funded and Breaking Ground Next Month

Santa Clara County is building a brand new $230 million Family Justice Center bordering St. James Park. The building will only be eight-stories tall, but will take up nearly a quarter million square feet on the block bound by West St. James, North First, DeVine, and North Market. The building will contain 20 court rooms and consolidate various courts throughout the San Jose area. This will also open multiple new development opportunities throughout Downtown.

Groundbreaking is scheduled to happen on July 16th!

Source: SJBJ

HP Pavilion will be Renamed SAP Center

Software giant SAP is going to be taking over naming rights for the HP Pavilion, which was previously the Compaq Center and the San Jose Arena before that. The founder of SAP happens to be the majority owner of the Sharks, so it makes sense. The city is going to receive $1.675 million each year for the five year term of the contract and the Sharks will receive an equal amount.

I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the name. Instead of calling it "S-A-P" Center, I can see people calling it the "sap" Center. What is the urban dictionary definition of a sap?  

A fool; someone who is prone to being taken advantage of, or who has been taken advantage of, usually in a situation that is easily perceived by others as foolhardy.

So based on branding implications alone, I prefer the HP Pavilion. I think I'll just continue to call it the Shark Tank or San Jose Arena for now. What do you guys think?

Source: The Merc

Saturday Stats: Santa Clara County is Growing the Fastest in California

There was a substantial population boom in Silicon Valley during 2012. Santa Clara County grew by an astounding 1.6% over the year, more than any other major county in all of California. The state average for population growth was half that at 0.8%. San Mateo, Alameda, and San Francisco also grew by over 1% but nothing matched Santa Clara County. This is great news. Since there is very little room for sprawl left in the Valley, as population grows our cities are becoming more dense. As density rises, the average cost of delivering services to residents should decrease while the market for world-class amenities increases. Congestion will also increase, but that will hopefully push government to improve public transit infrastructure throughout Santa Clara County.

Source: SVBJ

6th Annual SubZERO Festival TODAY!

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents the 6th Annual SubZERO Festival

Focused on emerging and present subcultures thriving in our region, SubZERO is a diy, artistically bent, hi/lo-techno mashup where street meets geek. Come downtown on June 7th to San Jose's SoFA District from 6pm 'til midnight for an inspired evening of arts & culture. In addition to the South FIRST FRIDAYS monthly art walk you'll find outdoor stages of entertainment plus artists, performers & musicians celebrating the indie creative spirit!

FRIDAY JUNE 7, 2013 from 6pm-midnight
SoFA district in downtown San Jose
(on South First Street between San Carlos & Reed Streets)

http://www.subzerofestival.com/

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/@subzerofestival) and keep in touch here on Facebook to keep up with the latest news as the festival approaches.

2013 SubZERO Artists/Creative Vendors
Alan Hackler
André Hart
Al Preciado
Alfredo Reyes
Appletats
Art Alive Gallery
Artist As Specimen
Avery Palmer
Baysics Clothing
Beadworker
Becca's Studio
Black & Brown
Black Cat Collective
Black Lotus Clothing
Blitz Fashion Show
Bloco del Sol
Blunt Letters
Bryan Lovo
Bugs and Monsters
Canvas Ghost
Cardoboard Box Theater
Chivaz Wear
Christian Cabuay
Classic Loot
CODAME:
Josh Nimoy
Reza Ali
Xavi Vives Riba
James Morgan
Superdeux
Vinit Patil
Ed Key + David Kanaga,
Starpause
Dan Lynch
Lucas Calderin & Spencer Poff
#OUTERBODY
Content Magazine
Corpus Callosum
Crossroads Trading
Current Tattooing
Cynthia Gonzalez
David Canavese
David Mejia
Death Before Dishonor
Dorothy Whitman
EcoMonster
Effie's Heart
Faerie Goatmother
Fernando Amaro
Francisco Franco
Frank Aguilar
Friends With Benefits
Galactic Romance
Gianfranco Paolozzi
Good Karma Bikes
Groovepainter Micah
Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery
iMINUSd
Jai Rodriguez
James Pollard
Jean Davis
Jeff Hemming
Jim Fonsenca
Jodi Mascarenas
Jose Angeles
Joshua Quinonez
Julie Bilyeu
Jumble Jimbles
Kathryn Hedges
Keith Bunnell
Knotty Boards
Kori Thompson
Korrupt Label
Laptop Orchestra at SCU
Lauren Baines Dance Co
LAuruS Myth
Loopy Cam by Tim Thompson
Lucy and Mabel Jewelry
Luna Park Chalk Arts Festival
Marie and Chris
Matthew Lopez
Matthew Seigel
Mejia Arts
Michele Guieu
Mighty Mike McGee
Morgan Richardson
noa-
The One Thousand Thousand Project
Oversocial MOFO Revue
Persephone Dance Company
POPS Fabrication
Radio KKUP 91.5fm
Revolights
Rock 'n the Trend
Sam Raske
Sandi Billingsley
San Jose Bike Clinic
San Jose Bike Valet
San Jose Rock Shop
San Jose Yarnbombers
Seasoned
Showroom by The Usuals
SJ Rockage
SLG /ArtBoutiki
South Bay Circus Arts
Steamy Tech
Steven Haman
Steven Reece
SV Roller Girls
Tahira: The Pure Dance Theatre
tappr.tv
Techshop San Jose
There There
Tinkertart
Tiny Splendor
Villainette
Wesley Wright
Wigglerama
Zatoon Clothing
Zenning

BLITZ Fashion Show

3 Stages of Music featuring:
Adira Shark
Brother Grand
Corpus Callosum
Druniverse
Halo Between
Haptic Synapses
Mad Noise
Mark Camp (aka Astronout)
Rin Tin Tiger
The Seaons
Silent Pictures
Together We Are Robots
The Wild Reeds

Better Brew Tasting Garden, sponsored by Lagunitas & hosted by BetterBeerBlog

Delicious array of Food Trucks:
Banjara Bistro
Barefoot Coffee
Cheese Bandits
Eat On Monday
MoBowl Food Truck
MoGo BBQ
O Mi Ninja
Quick Dog
ScopsSJ
Soulnese
Twisted Chill

SubZERO Festival is made possible by the artists & creatives listed above and by these amazing sponsors:
Lagunitas Brewing
San Jose Downtown Association
DICE
TechShop SJ
PayPal
ZipCar
Bay Brewer's Guild
Metro
1st ACT

InvenSense is Moving to San Jose

InvenSense is the leading provider of motion tracking devices in consumer electronics. These include gyroscopes, accelerators, compasses, and pressure sensors that you would find in today's smartphones, tablets, video game systems, smart TVs, and upcoming tech like Google Glass.

The company is rapidly growing and needs more space, so they have decided to ditch their 51,000 SQFT office in Sunnyvale and move to 130,000 SQFT near SJC. The building used to be occupied by Borcade before they moved to their shiny new headquarters in the @First area.

The larger footprint will also mean more hires. They could increase their number of US employees from 197 all the way up to 430 with this new space. InvenSense is definitely a welcome addition to the vast portfolio of tech companies currently in San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Amazing Architecture, Even with Height Limits

It has been a while since I have done a Wednesday Wishlist, but when I saw this building design in the development forums it blew my mind and I had to share. The best part is something like this is entirely doable within Downtown San Jose's height limits. Check out the design of the PARKROYAL Hotel in Singapore.

Source: San Jose Development Forum, Freshome Design & Architecture

EPIC NEWS! Downtown San Jose Getting a SECOND San Pedro Square Market!

Downtown San Jose has been having a pretty good year so far. The restaurant scene is exploding, high-rises are breaking ground, MUJI opened, the convention center expansion is almost done, huge new festivals are being planned, and now this...

I consider myself to be pretty plugged in to what's going on Downtown, but I can honestly say that I did not see this one coming. Reading this news in the Business Journal today was like getting a surprise gift you were not expecting for Christmas.

AEDIS Architecture and Planning is building a small project similar to the San Pedro Square Market in the SoFA District! The project will clock in at 7,500 SQFT, will have an artsy vibe to be consistent with the SoFA area, and will contain around 10 food and retail vendors! There are already four potential vendors and they really want to secure a bar, wine bar, or beer garden to be one of those 10. None of these will be large chains, all will be unique independent shops like the San Pedro Square Market. Integrating an art gallery is another possibility.

Not only will it front South First Street, but there is also an interior courtyard that will be part of the project. Above the retail will be a new 9,000 SQFT office (which is also being partially sublet). This is all located at 371-387 South First across the street from Cafe Stritch and Anno Domini. Launch is targeted for November. 2013 keeps getting better and better for Downtown!

Source: SVBJ