Saturday Stats: 2013 META-Edition!

Every time I post a Saturday Stat, I also toss it in a Google Doc so we can look back on the year and see all of our top rankings listed in a single place. Since it is the last Saturday of 2013, the time to reflect is now.

The list is even longer than 2012. San Jose's achievements this year include #1 lowest housing vacancy, #1 in patent creation, #1 top job market, #1 happiest city for young professionals, #1 technical jobs per capita, #1 best city for STEM jobs, #1 best city to work in, #1 safest city above 500,000 residents, #1 richest city in America, and #1 happiest, healthiest city in the US. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?

Below you can find the full list of 2013 Saturday Stats, and if you want to check out 2012 the Google Doc is over here.

More San Jose Luxury Apartments Break Ground

Below is a rendering of "Ascent," Shea Properties' latest apartment project. We are talking 650 units in South San Jose (former Hitachi campus) with an estimated completion of Spring 2015. The total project cost is going to be $200 million, making it quite an expensive development when looking at the unit count ($307k per unit). There will be one, two, and three-bedroom units and luxurious amenities such as saltwater pools, a yoga courtyard, and a community pizza oven.

Looks like nice project, I just wish there was an office component to it as well. We really need more jobs in South San Jose and more housing in North San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

FREE New Year's Party at the San Pedro Square Market

Well, this is a nice surprise. Next week the San Pedro Square Market is hosting an 80's-themed New Years Party including a midnight champagne toast, 80s music, 80s movies, a balloon drop, a photo booth, and I'm sure a few surprises. The best part? It's free. 2013 was a great year for Downtown and 2014 is going to be even better, so I could not think of a more appropriate place to celebrate than the SPSM.

The event runs from 9pm to 1am across the entire Market and no reservations are required.



SPSM Special Events: December 31, 2013 starting at 9:00pm.

New Year's Eve Party - 80's Style.  We're closing up 2013 with a New Year's Eve party and you're invited. Our NY resolution is to start 2014 with a bang, so we're throwing a FREE shindig complete with a midnight champagne toast, balloon drop, photo booth and more.  Come one, come all.

We are keeping this a completely public event. So no pre-sale of tickets or registering for a spot. We are just going to let people come in and enjoy themselves. We are keeping it pretty fun and casual, so please feel free to dress up!

San Jose had the First Locomotive in California

Check out this little tidbit from I HEART SAN JOSE:

According to the record in the USC Digital Library archive, this image is of either the first locomotive built in California or shipped TO California. The caption also says it served on the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. The image is dated 1867 and the second car says "Sacramento Valley Railroad" on it. The locomotive has "L. L. Robinson" written on it.

Link: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll65/id/11605

Hanhny - New San Jose-Based Fashion Label

Hanh Nguyen is a fashion designer that recently relocated back to San Jose. Over the past seven years she has lived in New York and Europe and designed for the labels Isaac Mizrahi, The Reformation, and Jessica Joyce. Now that Hanh is back in town, she's starting her own label called Hanhny.

You can check out the her full collection online over here, or you can head over to either the SJMade pop up shop at Valley Fair or the DSF Shop in SF (I'm sure you can guess my personal preference). If you visit the website, use the coupon code Hanhny25 to receive 25% your entire purchase. The promo expires on December 31st, and again here is the link.

San Jose Civic Rebranded as the City National Civic

The historic San Jose Civic Auditorium has sold naming rights to City National Bank. For the next five years the venue will be known as the City National Civic. The word Auditorium was purposefully omitted in order to the better position the Civic as a concert destination. San Jose will receive a total of $870,000 from the deal.

City National Bank isn't just changing the sign. Have a second look at yesterday's post and see if you can spot the GIANT signage on the roof of the building. With so many planes flying over San Jose each day, City National's marketing team made a wise decision.

Source: SVBJ

Merry Christmas!!! What Was San Jose's Christmas Gift in 1881?

Merry Christmas San Jose! We wish all of you and your families a wonderful day filled with joy and happiness.

We do have a little treat for you courtesy of WMS Media. They have produced yet another great short video on San Jose's history, and this one is timely. 132 years ago to this day, the world famous Electric Light Tower went live (it does kind of look like a Christmas tree doesn't it?). Watch the video below to learn more!


Dec 25, 1881 - San Jose Electric Light Tower from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

"Invented by J.J. Owens, editor of the San Jose Mercury and built with public funds, this unique structure was the center of attraction for the city and a one of a kind in the world.

Standing at Market and Santa Clara Streets at just over 200 feet tall, the tower was constructed from readily available boiler iron in the shape of a tower. Atop the structure were six arc lights putting out a brilliant moon-lit glow. They were powered by Brush Electric generators. Residents claimed they could now read a book at night from 2 miles away. Police said it would reduce city crime. And people who owed money complained they could now be spotted and identified at night!

The tower brought world-wide fame and pride to San Jose with articles written in Harpers Weekly and Vanity Fair."

Amazing Downtown San Jose Photos

Check out these two awesome photos taken recently of Downtown San Jose during the holiday season! These were shot by lastlightbender on Instagram (thanks to Robertee from the San Jose Development forum for the link). I think these are among my top ten favorite Downtown San Jose photos taken of all time... stunning.

Source: Lastlightbender (Instagram), Robertee from SSC