Reddit Conversation with Sam Liccardo

Even if you could care less about San Jose politics, I would highly recommend reading this Reddit conversation with District 3 Councilmember Sam Liccardo. Some of the topics he covers include:

• Downtown nightlife
• How to compete with other Downtown areas in the South Bay and SF
• The Homeless
• Housing costs
• BART to San Jose
• Crime
• The Gold Club
• The 49ers move
• Building codes & fees
• The A's Ballpark
• Downtown High-rises
• Population growth and density
• Office vacancies

In other words he covered almost every topic important to Downtown San Jose, and he did a pretty good job of addressing the questions directly and only dodging a couple. He even made a comment about the airport location specifically for Anthony Dominguez ;)

"It means that some locations are limited to 25 or even 20 stories, which isn't tall enough to justify the very large additional costs of steel construction (typically required on anything 10 stories or more). We also have a high water table due to the proximity of the Guadalupe, so developers have to pump water--permanently-- in order to install underground garages. So, our geography undermines our ability to build a skyline. That's why I'm proposing next week that we move the airport to Moffett Field. Just kidding." 

It's a great read, definitely worth 15min of your time! Again, here is the link.

Source: Anonymous Poster

Is There a Second New Westin Hotel Coming to Downtown San Jose???

I have one big question for tonight, what is this project below? At first I thought this was Lew Wolff's re-branding of the Sainte Claire as the Westin San Jose. Have a close look... even in the completely unlikely scenario that the City would allow a developer to dramatically face-lift a historic building, there is no way they could make it look like the render. The Sainte Claire is a six story building while the render is either 11 or 12 stories. The shape is also completely different. So again, I ask the question... what the heck is this project?

The text below reads: Ehm Architecture provided Schematic Design and Design Development Services for Starwood Hotels on this 500-room hotel in downtown San Jose. The project is in the entitlements phase.

Could this be a brand new, unannounced project in the Downtown area?  Downtown San Diego has two Westin Hotels, so it may be a possibility. If anyone has any other news, please send it in. Huge hat-tip to Franco for finding this.

Sources: Franco Rancadore, EHM Website

TWO BUCK Tuesday at KALEID Today

From Phantom Galleries:

TWO BUCK Tuesday is this week on September 17th, 7pm-10pm at KALEID Gallery!

Come enjoy an inspired evening of performances, live painting, $2 art, drop-in sketching table & quirky people get together! It’s open to all ages and free!
Here are some of of the participating artists who will be joining us this time:


KALEID artist Joe Perea will be sharing his unique way of drawing, and will help you come up with your own work of art using his technique of building upon circles as a starting point. He believes anyone can learn to draw and express themselves with confidence and he loves inspiring people to try it out for the first time.


Artist Carolann Espino will demonstrate the art of creating assemblage and decorative boxes using various types of objects, vintage glass, odd objects, curiosities. She will demonstrate the way to create a crackling effect as well as training your eye to create unusual art objects. Bring your own boxes due to supply limitations. However,nobody will be turned away from the demonstration. Her motto is "Think outside of the box." "Be Bold and Allow yourself to express whatever is revealed. That is the best art because it expresses your authentic self.


Pals Lacey and Lara spent many years playing with colorful, smudgy oil pastels together. They are reuniting for this evening to teach you how to have fun doing collaborative drawing in oil pastels. There will also be a special $2 sale of lots of oil pastel drawings from the vault!


Nik Caesar will create little monsters for your pleasure.


Al Preciado Andre Hart will collaborate on a flower painting for their upcoming show at KALEID


David Mejia will draw your portrait while you wait.


Enjoy sweet beats by Illvino!


And check out the feature exhibition What's Under the Bed new works by Mark Damrel, and Donny Foley.

TWO BUCK Tuesday is September 17th!
All ages & free!

RSVP https://www.facebook.com/events/216270351875757/


88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm
Free admission

High-end Health Club Replacing Century Berryessa 10

Many Berryessa residents were worried that the former Century 10 Movie Theater was going to be turned into a Walmart. It now looks like that space is going to be a massive 130,000 SQFT VillaSport gym. Actually, calling it a gym may be an insult. The existing VillaSports in Texas and Colorado feature amenities like outdoor water slides, whirlpools, full-service spas, massive amounts of equipment, and kid's areas that are in-and-of themselves larger than many gyms. Residents in the area should be pretty happy about this!

They are ready to build the health club as soon as they receive the final sign-off from the city. I'm not sure what the monthly fees will be for membership, but I think they will be a bit higher than your typical 24 Hour Fitness. Check out some images below that the Business Journal scooped up from a Colorado VillaSport .

Source: SVBJ

Massive 2 MILLION SQFT Office Project Proposed for North First!

Nathan Donato-Weinstein from the Business Journal nabbed what will likely be the largest development scoop of the year. 10 freakin towers proposed on North First Street!!! The project spans 20 acres at First Street and Brokaw which consists of some empty land and the Bay 101 casino. It would likely be built in two phases, Phase 1 on the area currently vacant with Phase 2 coming in after the casino moves to their new home closer to M8trix.

The buildings would each be about seven stories--which is tall for your typical tech campus, think Brocade in the @First area. Total square footage would clock in at a jaw-dropping 2,025,350 SQFT. In terms of sheer size of an office project, this would come second only to the new Apple Campus in Cupertino. This dwarves all other planned office projects in the Bay Area, including expansion project by Samsung, Facebook, Linkedin and Google (their Bayview Campus).

No potential tenant has been named, but there is speculation that it will be a huge tech company like Microsoft, Amazon, or Apple.

Amenities will include 7,103 spaces of mostly underground parking (Lightrail is also across the street), an underground pool, a soccer field, and courts for basketball, racquetball, and squash. Check out photos of the modern curved glass buildings below! I really, really hope this goes through.

Source: SVBJ

Smart & Final Coming to East San Jose

The Plaza de San Jose retail center at Story and King is about to get a new tenant. Smart & Final is planning on occupying a 20,000 SQFT space that was previously a Famsa. The warehouse-style grocer plans to service both general consumers and restaurants in the area. The store should open this month and will be the third in San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranked #6 Best City for Small Business

We have a great Saturday stat for you you today. Our of all major cities in the US, San Jose was ranked as the #6 best city for small businesses! What makes this all the more meaningful, is that San Jose was the ONLY California city on the list. The rankings were calculated by factoring in state income taxes (5% weight), city income taxes (10% weight), payroll taxes (25% weight), city property taxes (10% weight), city growth rankings (20% weight), and ease of licensing requirements (30% weight).

San Francisco did not rank. In fact, New York did not even rank. For a business earning $100k a year in New York City, they would have the worst tax rate and they also scored very poorly from a licensing perspective. San Francisco also has difficult licensing requirements (much worst than San Jose) and also is subject to higher taxes (2% more than San Jose).

San Jose qualified with no local income tax (city income tax), a low property tax rate, the top growth rank rate of all cities evaluated, and a decent but not great license friendliness rank. Again, the fact that this was the only city in California to qualify is quite substantial.

List of Top 10 Best Cities for Small Business

1. Austin, TX
Tech giants Dell and IBM make their home here, but Austin proves equally friendly to small businesses. The city scores highly thanks to no state or local personal income taxes and its 2nd place rank in the Milken Institute’s 2012 Best Performing Cities for favorable growth prospects in technology, real wages and jobs. Austin also scored 2nd for its hassle-free business licensing requirements, according to data from Thumbtack’s 2013 Small Business Friendliness Survey.

Local income tax: 0% (sample median: 0%)
City property tax: 1.24% (sample median: 1.35%)
Growth rate rank: 2
License friendliness rank: 2

2. San Antonio, TX
Home to big companies like Clear Channel and Valero, San Antonio earns the second spot in our list because it has the highest ranking for friendly licensing requirements, where on average small business owners say that the city’s regulatory environment is “somewhat friendly.” San Antonio also scores in the top 10 for its growth prospects.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.36%
Growth rate rank: 6
License friendliness rank: 1

3. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Dallas is home to over a dozen Fortune 500 companies and like other Texas cities, it is very welcoming to small businesses, scoring in the top 5 for ease of licensing requirements and growth prospects. While it did not score highly for property taxes, Dallas is still a very attractive city for small business.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.38%
Growth rate rank: 5
License friendliness rank: 5

4. Baltimore, MD
One of only three East coast cities to make our list, Baltimore earned a top 10 spot because it ranked 3rd for its hassle free licensing requirements. One downside is that Baltimore levies personal income taxes between 1.25 and 3.2% and scores poorly because of relatively high property taxes.

Local income tax: 3.2%
City property tax: 2.27%
Growth rate rank: 7
License friendliness rank: 3

5. Houston, TX
Houston ranks fifth thanks to a very friendly overall tax environment. It had the third lowest city property tax rates at 1.15% and ranked third for growth prospects.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.15%
Growth rate rank: 3
License friendliness rank: 11

6. San Jose, CA
The only California city to make our list, San Jose earned the no. 1 spot in America in Milken’s growth ratings, largely thanks to an influx of Silicon Valley technology companies and educated labor force. The city also scored in the top 10 for low-hassle licensing requirements.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.27%
Growth rate rank: 1
License friendliness rank: 7

7. Charlotte, NC
While North Carolina isn’t known for its friendly income tax code, Charlotte did score highly for low unemployment tax rates and scored in the top 10 for property taxes, long-term growth prospects and non-burdensome licensing requirements.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.28%
Growth rate rank: 8
License friendliness rank: 10

8. Indianapolis, IN
While not as tax friendly as Texas cities, Indianapolis scored 6th for easy licensing requirements and 10th for future growth rates. Indianapolis ranked poorly for property taxes and also levies an income tax of 1.62%.

Local income tax: 1.62%
City property tax: 3.35%
Growth rate rank: 10
License friendliness rank: 6

9. Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville scores in our top ten largely thanks to its presence in Florida, a state with zero personal income taxes and relatively low payroll taxes. Jacksonville earned 4th place for its easy licensing requirements but scores lower for growth prospects (15th) and property taxes (12th).

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.80%
Growth rate rank: 15
License friendliness rank: 4

10. Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix earned 10th place mainly because of Arizona’s tax friendly environment: the state scores 3rd for lowest income tax rates and 2nd for lowest payroll taxes. Phoenix scores 8th overall for property taxes and 9th for ease of licensing requirements.

Local income tax: 0%
City property tax: 1.30%
Growth rate rank: 16

License friendliness rank: 9

Source: Nerdwallet, SVBJ

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library - 10th Anniversary!

This month, the Dr. MLK Jr. Library is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with several events. These includes film viewings, live music, contests, activities, a neat art project, and special exhibits. You can access the full list of events at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library website over here.

Thanks Mallory for sending this in.