July 2013 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• 1,400 Downtown San Jose apartments are now in the planning stages. Less than 4% of the remaining condos from the 2007-08 high-rise boom remain for sale. New projects include:
• Centerra - 21 stories, 327 units
• One South Market - 23 stories, 312 units
• The Pierce - 7 stories, 235 units
• North San Pedro Townhomes - 6 stories, 408 units
• Symphony Development - 7 stories, 129 units
• Some interesting stats on who is moving Downtown:
• 26% are 26-35 years old, 33% are 36-45 years old, 21% are 46-55
• 57% have master's degrees
• 72% have owned a home before
• 95% wanted to live Downtown
• 40% of recent homebuyers at The 88 make over $300,000/year (!)
• Half of the recent homebuyers at Axis make between $150,000-$250,000/year
• On Aug 2nd there will be a huge South First Friday and Street Market.
• ArtPlace America funded Downtown's growing arts scene for the third consecutive year, giving MACLA $750,000 to transform its interior space into an imaginative urban art center.
• Eight new start-ups have moved to Downtown San Jose from Ireland: 45Sound, Cleverbug, Connected Trips, Fanton, Pubble, Synergy Suite, Viddyad, WholeWorldBrand
• The Discover San Jose store opened at 150 S. First St.
• Amor Cafe and Tea opened at 110 E. San Fernando.
• Seeing Things Gallery is open at 30 N. Third St., and features unique art shows, books, and self-published magazines.
• Ana's Libreria Bookstore at 20 N. First has spiritual and therapy books in both Spanish and English as well as jewelry.
• The $320 million Santa Clara County Courthouse broke ground on July 16th.
• Downtown Hotel Occupancy has gone from 50.16% in 2009 to 69.92% in 2012.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

San Jose's Joey Chestnut Breaks World Record for Eating Hot Dogs

It is not every day that you see a San Josean featured in Sports Illustrated. What was Joey Chestnut's athletic feat? He ate an amazing 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes, breaking his own previous record of 68 Hot Dogs last year. This is his seventh consecutive title!

69 hot dogs contain about 8 days worth of calories for an average man, and 1,173 grams of fat (a normal American has 40-50 grams of fat per day). Even Ronald McDonald is impressed.

Source: Sports Illustrated

San Jose is Named the Best Metro for STEM Grads

San Jose claims yet another national title, and this one is substantial. San Jose ranked as the top market in the country for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) jobs. Based on metrics such as percentage of total jobs that require STEM Bachelor degrees or higher, average salary, and overall salary, each market was given a particular score.

With 24% of San Jose jobs requiring a STEM degree, an average STEM job salary of $115,744, and a $69,794 average salary for all jobs... San Jose utterly destroyed the competition with an aggregate score of 97.5.  Washington came in second place with a score of 78.6. San Francisco took 4th place with 15% of jobs needing a STEM degree and a $104,041 average STEM salary... meaning if you are looking for a STEM career you will make almost $12,000 less in San Francisco (without including the additional 2% in taxes you will pay for city-wide health insurance).

The full top 10 list is below.

Source: SVBJ, Nerd Wallet

Top Ten Metro Areas for STEM Graduates

 1.    San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

The San Jose – Sunnyvale – Santa Clara metro area is a hub for STEM jobs in a variety of industries. As a major section of the Silicon Valley, the metro area is the headquarters for large technology employers like Intel, NetApp and Adobe Systems. The area also has high volumes of jobs in the manufacturing, healthcare and information industries. Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering offers high school students the chance to develop engineering knowledge with their SEED (Spring Engineering Education Days) and One Step Ahead programs. One Step Ahead is specifically designed to support female students in the GAINS (Girls Achieving in Non-Traditional Subjects)program.

2.    Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Despite being located in the political and governmental center of the US, the Washington – Arlington – Alexandria metro area is not just home to politicians and lobbyists. Plentiful and high value jobs in biotechnology, healthcare, computer systems design, software publishing, and science and technical consulting make it one of the best high-tech areas in the country. Large employers include Micron Technology Virginia, Computer Sciences Corporation, George Mason University and the Marine Corps Base Quantico. George Mason University’s STEM Accelerator program is dedicated to attracting and graduating more STEM majors in addition to helping them find employment in the STEM fields.

3.    Huntsville, AL

Huntsville receives a significant amount of economic support from the presence of Redstone Arsenal, the Army missile program facility and the home of the Marshall Space Flight Center. Huntsville has strong science, technology, architecture, engineering, and computer and math sciences industries.

4.    San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

Known for its growing tech industry, San Francisco is a hotbed of STEM jobs.  The local universities emphasize STEM as well, and UC Berkeley has clubs devoted to LGBT STEM communities and mentorship of women in STEM.  With Silicon Valley nearby and SOMA just downtown, STEM grads will find plenty of tech companies to work with, including tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Dropbox and Twitter.

5.    Trenton-Ewing, NJ

Trenton was a major manufacturing center, and the city is now home to many government jobs.  Trenton’s biggest employer is the State of New Jersey.  The Center for Excellence in STEM Education has brought together a multidisciplinary team of educators, researchers and practitioners to determine STEM curriculum and learning techniques for pre-kindergarten through grade 20.

6.    Boulder, CO

Almost 17% of Boulder’s jobs require a STEM bachelor’s degree or higher.  Boulder is one of themost educated places in the United States, and the Colorado Collaborative for Girls in STEM, funded by the National Science Foundation, encourages girls to pursue STEM careers.  CU-Boulder has done groundbreaking research in student learning and curricular assessment through their Center for STEM Learning as well.

7.    Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Seattle is known for its clean technology, life sciences and healthcare industries, all of which attract STEM workers.  The city educates its youth in STEM as well—the University of Washington runs Green Energy, a STEM camp for middle schoolers.  For networking and coordination between STEM groups, Washington STEM is a great resource for holistic STEM education, both in the classroom and outside.

8.    Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH

Boston’s healthcare and research industries create a high demand for STEM expertise in the city. Massachusetts General Hospital is a top employer in the city, and the city is home to more than fifty colleges and universities, earning it the nickname “America’s College Town.”  Boston’s colleges offer plenty of programs that enrich the STEM knowledge of local kids as well.  Northeastern University runs a summer STEM program for middle school students, and MIT offers an innovative Women’s Technology Program that enrolls high school girls in a rigorous STEM summer camp.

9.    Ann Arbor, MI

With the University of Michigan as Ann Arbor’s largest employer, it’s no wonder the city has plenty to offer STEM graduates.  Ann Arbor also has thriving manufacturing, healthcare, automotive and biomedical research industries.  This high-tech area also holds programs to enrich youth growing up in Ann Arbor—the M-STEM Academy at the University of Michigan allows outstanding K-12 students to take summer classes and offers stipends, research experience and internships.

10. Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA

The Tri-Cities economy is largely based on farming, wine, healthcare and the automotive industry.  The agriculture and healthcare industries require plenty of STEM knowledge, and the Washington State STEM Education Foundation has played a large role in emphasizing STEM education for publicly educated students.

Original Gravity Public House Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Original Gravity Public House opened a year ago and has certainly helped to add further legitimacy to the burgeoning San Jose craft beer scene. Tomorrow starting at 12:30 p.m., they're throwing a party in honor of their one-year anniversary. Among the festivities is an impressive tap lineup. Co-owner Dan Phan recently told me that he is particularly excited about the very limited West Ashley ale from Capitola's Sainte Adairius Rustic Ales, which is scheduled to be tapped at 2 p.m.

And for those that sometimes wished that Original Gravity had more space, your wish will come true as the owners have told me that they are working on expanding by a thousand square feet. Very cool news!

You can check out the details of the one-year celebration event on their website or their Facebook event page.

Original Gravity 1 year anniversary. Credits: Andy Lee

Die Hard Company Now Featuring Earthquakes Shirts!

Last time I plugged Die Hard Company, people asked where the Quakes gear was. Well, they are finally here! Die Hard Company is releasing their very first shirt design honoring the San Jose Earthquakes and they are on sale for 20% off until July 20th. For more information click here.

Valley Fair's New Dining Terrace

I could have sworn that Valley Fair remodeled their food court not long ago. Either way, they are stepping it up again with a 23,000 SQFT dining terrace that will ad 10 new food choices into the mix. The aesthetic seems very modern and high-end and is said to feel much more open than the current food court.

They are also beefing up their luxury collection of stores with 14 new retailers and announcements for a dozen more in the next few months. I'm still waiting for that 650,000 SQFT expansion with Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales to kick off.

Source: SVBJ

Photos of One South Market Barricades

The One South Market residential high-rise continues to move forward! There are now perimeter barricades all the way around the development site and they created a staging area on northbound San Pedro Street between Santa Clara and Post. I can't wait to see this building start to rise later this year.

Hat tip to Jeffrey Arko for sending in the photos!

Meridian Mixed-Use Retail Tenants

It looks like some of the retail for the Meridian Mixed-Use project in Midtown San Jose is already spoken for. Based on the image below the project will have:

• Chase Bank
• Chipotle
• Five Guys
• Subway
• A Yogurt Shop
• A Day Spa

Not too shabby for a five story apartment building. In the past a project like this would have likely not received any retail at all.

Source: credit goes to an anonymous poster, speak up in the comments if you want the credit =)